Let's Rank Milton Bradley games (Time Lord, baby!) ua-cam.com/video/b0IM9XGuacs/v-deo.html Let's Rank OCEAN NES games ua-cam.com/video/8fwUymaZTSI/v-deo.html
Double Dragon 2 is an easy S. Good moveset, good graphics, a badass soundtrack, more levels, faster gameplay than the arcade version, and I always found the controls very easy to use. I also liked the added platforming as I am not a fan of beat em ups that are nothing but WALK>FIGHT>WALK>FIGHT>WALK>FIGHT.
The platform jumping at the end is impossible without game genie. But it doesn't matter DD2 is still one of the best games for the NES. It help set the standard fir beat em ups.
@@jaybee9679 As a kid I remember being stuck at the haunted mansion for a while. Now I can do that part in my sleep. I never found the trap zone platforming very difficult (and I'm no platforming ace).
Honestly, these NES rankings by publisher have re-invigorated my thirst for retro gaming videos on YT. I was actually concerned with channels that cover retro games (or mostly retro) as there is major retro gaming saturation (along with burnout on my end) with reviews, playthrough's, etc. Something as simple as these ranking videos are oddly a breath of fresh air, and I very much look forward to them.
Thanks! I want to think so. Gotta show the good with the bad. Everyone can do Mega Man but gotta show my homies Wizards and Warriors and more some love.
@@matthewlane518 at least they had their own Captain N rip off show: THE POWER TEAM! Starting: Bigfoot, guy from Arch Rivals, NARC guy, and Wizards&Warriors guy
George Foreman's KO boxing gets better if you figure it out and stick with it. It has some similarities to Punch Out as you figure out the patterns of the enemies.
I think Smash TV is one of the coolest experiences on the NES when you use the four-player adapter. Two-player simultaneous with twin stick shooters (two nes controllers held vertically with D-pads at top). It makes the game so much better and bumps it up to S tier for me.
Wizards and warriors was a s in my book. At the time I did not need a game genie I did not have to read a Nintendo power magazine for tips. I could set down and have fun and feel like I got something done while enjoying playing the game. Some times I really don’t understand how you rate these games but in my book it was a solid S.
My older sister had Wizards and Warriors and lent it to me a couple times. I could never make sense of what I was supposed to be doing. I also didn't get why a knight in full armor with a lance would be jumping across treetops.
100% agreed. It had inventive items and was fun to explore. You never knew what you'd be doing in a given level until you get there, and the whole game had a very late 80s arcade feel to it, especially the boss fights. Definite S-tier classic for me.
I agree Double Dragon II: The Revenge is the best of the trilogy, in fact, is one of my top 3 NES games of all time, also, I love the Wizards & Warriors series, we will never know what happened to Kuros in the ending of the third installment since there was no 4th game, I wish there was a kickstarter with the original team who made the game to make a 4th game and complete Kuros destiny.
Double Dragon II & Super Double Dragon for the SNES are two of my all-time favorite beat em’ Ups outside of Streets of Rage 2, Final Fight, and those Konami Arcade four-player games.
I used to spend hours playing destination earthstar, its a game i still like. You have to defeat the enemy ships to unlock the hidden base planet and theres other planets to explore to get fuel and weapons upgrades.
That WWF WrestleMania game is the main reason I was waiting for an Acclaim list on this channel. I think the music should bump it to a D, but everything else about it was mediocre. I think Andre and Ted DiBiase were the only ones to not get their actual theme songs translated into the game, but that could also be because at the time not EVERY wrestler had his own theme music and they slapped something into theme for the game. But dangit if that 8-bit version of "Real American" didn't get me pumped every time I played this game.
Andre never had theme music, and DiBiase didn't get his until later. Calling it mediocre is too kind, only a few of the 6 wrestlers had that ridiculous looking body slam, which was really hard to execute, as was a simple pin. It's unforgivable compared to Pro Wrestling from a year earlier.
That's a great point! It makes me kind of sad to think about John eventually getting to the end of this super fun video lineup. An SNES one would be really fun.
You haven't done Taito yet have you, John? I would LOVE to see that one done next! Or if you feel like taking on something light (after dealing with Acclaim's beefy library) a Vic Tokai video would be fun.
Hi, new to the channel but I've been liking what I see. The nostalgic vibes you conjure are amazing. I'm surprised I haven't seen anybody post about The Power Team. The cartoon from the 90s that came on during the show video Power. It featured characters from games that were licensed by Acclaim. Almost all of which I think we're mentioned in this video. Side note. Did nobody think that maybe they could have listed Honky Tonk Man's name differently in the WWF game?? Just having his name as Honky is kind of hilarious.
Destination Earthstar is a game I got early on the NES. If you think Bigfoot needs a manual then Destination Earthstar needs it even more so. It's a mix of spaceflight sim and shooter (once you destroy all the enemies in a sector the base will appear and then you enter the shooter mode).
The Wizards and Warriors games have a lot going for them, outside of the terrible combat that is. If only it had an actual attack that didn't involve just running into enemies with your sword. That said, I would have liked to see this one brought back in some fashion.
Agreed, these games have a bit of something special about them in spite of the wonky swordplay. The jump is a far more useful method of attack than the stab, which isn't intuitive at all given you're a heavily armoured knight. If only a part 4 had materialized during the 16-bit generation! Would absolutely love to see another action/exploration platformer done in the W&W style.
I liked this game as a kid, and I tried getting back into it recently but I can’t. I don’t remember the swordplay being so broken. I get killed by everything it seems impossible. Any tips or tricks for using the sword?
@@Wheels8504 My brother and I beat Double Dragon 2 so many times, we didn't need to cheat. It was just fun playing through the levels and laughing at some of the goofy stuff in the game.
@@XENOS_Indie_Game_Dev I was 4 or 5 years old when my parents bought my siblings and I the NES. So I had to use Game Genie since I was so young. I still use it today just for the fun of it and great memories.
We used to call the super knee in Double Dragon II the ULTRA KNEE. It's also the most devastating maneuver in all of sports entertainment when performed by Daniel Bryan.
I had 3D World Runner and kind of loved it? There is more variety as it progresses. The 3D was neat every once in a while. I remember finding every NES Simpsons game to be agony. I had Bartman and those bouncing tires were so obnoxious.
These videos are consistently excellent. This channel has become my favorite for retro games, hands down. Over all the other MJR crew folks as well. Keep up the great work!! Retro is where it's at!
Hard foul on Double Dragon III. I get that you didn't connect with it, but damn as a kid that game was everything. Best in the series for me. So cool to get the Kung fu and Ninja guy to mix up the gameplay.
You nailed the Simpsons rankings perfectly. While playable and a little fun, the terrible controls make them beyond frustrating. And I loved Swords and Serpents when I was a kid, I remember feeling like I was in the dungeon. Great game for its time.
Ironsword is an A+ for me. That game is top tier. The music, the game play. I love the sound effects better than Zelda. When you find a treasure. Ironsword is a true hidden gem on the Nintendo NES.
As a kid I remember seeing the later levels in Nintendo Power and thinking to myself, "I'll never see those in person", and I didn't after renting the game a few times. Playing it as an adult, it wasn't too bad. The game punished you for getting frustrated and sloppy. You have to be on point with where you need to go. Plus, once I understood that the elementals were as hidden as this is a hidden gem, I ended up getting pretty far. If I recall, the the password system kind of stinks because you literally restore back to the lives, health, and weapons you had at that time. You could load your password as many times as you want, but you might immediately die if you weren't in good shape. I played it on an emulator, but I refuse to use save states.
Rambo is semi Metroidvania imo, because it does have that open exploration, but you don't really get items to progress, you can technically progress without getting them if you're good enough. That's a game that I had a love-hate relationship with. Lately I do enjoy it, though it's not as polished as similar games like Zelda 2 or Faxanadu, it's still very solid. Props to Acclaim for copying Zelda 2 and getting it out here fast enough to beat Zelda 2 here. 😂
@@xflarearcadia1766 Yep, that's fairly accurate to the arcade though, where the sudden platforming partway through the game with janky jump control was intended to eat quarters.
@@xflarearcadia1766 Me too, which was by far my biggest complaint about the N.E.S. Double Dragon games. I mean this was supposed to be fighting, not Super Mario Bros. for God's sake! (L.O.L.!)
I'm glad you at least gave Arch Rivals a B. Arch Rivals was one of my favorite games on the system. I admit i loved the sports games as a kid. I had a bunch of them and whenever i got a new game, it was generally a sports game, but Arch Rivals was my favorite. I played that all the time.
I’ve enjoyed every one of these so far thank you so much. It does really highlight how important development studio was. Akklaim always had a reputation for at best mediocrity as a kid, but I had no idea they were doing things like publishing the content of Rare and Technos.
i love STAR VOYAGER and finished it. in order to get to your destination, you have to go on your map, calculate how many times your marker on the map will get to your destination, set that marker there, and when you speed up your ship, you have have your warp build up to that many times of your marker. for example, if you want to get to the planet or enemy, and it takes five moves to get to that destination, you have to wait till the upper right side of the screen builds up to that many times. be carful, the diamond shape of the dots is the black hole and the square shape of the dots are the astroid belts. also, the x's are the enemy,u have to go to each planet to find your upgrade for your lasers and for your shield barrier. also, somewhere in space is an object, if you shoot it close enough, you'll get a bomb too. it takes at least 3 speed machs to land on the planet or port at a space station. be careful though because the enemies are heading toward your main blue base, and once that's destroyed, you lose
Thanks for yet another fun-filled video, John! I thoroughly enjoyed it as always and the only games we seem to disagree on are the "3's" of the group. I personally love both Double Dragon III and Wizards and Warriors III and I think the reason why so many don't like them (you actually like DD3 more than most...thanks for at least giving it a C!) is that both games have a learning curve and in the case of WW3, the game feels and plays a lot different. With DD3, it's actually quite fun with two players and there are several "hidden" moves like where you jump and grab a foe by the hair and throw them that are really fun to execute. Double-tapping and running and doing a jump kick actually causes slightly more damage I believe and Chin is a BEAST at simply punching enemies and wiping them out quickly. I learned a lot of little nuances playing that game so much as a kid. :) Also, I loved the whole "stealth" element of WW3 and how you wanted to be a knight/thief/wizard at certain times and how you were essentially trying to sneak into the castle to face an old foe. The underground/underworld area was pretty sweet too (I still remember the battle against the dragon very late in the game.) In any case, I would hang in there with those two games, John. They are hidden gems but it takes some real time playing both games to really see them in that light. I agree with you on everything else though. Double Dragon 2 is fantastic and Smash TV is solid as well. I felt the SAME way playing Cybernoid btw. Just a strange game (feels like a Commodore 64 title for some reason). Keep up the great work man! Your videos rock!
Wrestlemania Challenge was light years ahead of Wrestlemania. I had WC as a kid and I must have spent endless hours playing it! Even after beating every mode, with every wrestler. Absolutely adored Wrestlemania Challenge!
Arch Rivals was originally made in the arcades by Midway, which Acclaim was actually a division of, believe it or not. Moreover, Arch Rivals made the NBA Jam, NFL Blitz/Blitz: the League, MLB Slugfest, and NHL Hitz franchises exist, as well as, ironically enough, hits for the company that would later buy the NBA Jam license in EA with their games of Mutant League Football and Mutant League Hockey, and it even influenced the early Madden titles as well.
Double Dragon 2 is great, is the Streets of Rage of the NES...a lot of moves, level design, variety, amazing soundtrack.....it's a total blast, a must play.
Hurts my heart to see Tiger-Heli a 'D'. I loved this game and played it soooo much with my friends. I have never played the arcade version though, so not comparing it to that, just how much fun it was.
Aklaim masters of the game! Lol ah the memories. I love the Airwolf game. I played that so much. It got hard after level 9. The back of the box said 20 missions. When I finally reached and beat level 20, it kept going. I made it to level 22. I think it just keeps going. It was difficult, it should be a B, but that's me. I was never much of a fan of wizards and warriors because the controls didn't do it justice. My cousins had it but never let me play it. I rented it and couldn't get into it. I bought a copy some years ago and I still can't get past the controls. That's just me. Nice video, I hadn't played most of those. Time I catch up on my retro gaming.
AFAIK Cybernoid was originally designed for the microcomputers that were popular in Europe at the time (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, etc). Even its NES incarnation has definitely got a very Euro-microcomputer feel to it which is probably why it comes across as an early NES homebrew.
I love these videos of yours!! I grew up with the SNES and although I've always loved older games, I ended up only playing the classics from the NES era -- Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, etc. Of course the extensive retro content on the internet is a great way to expand that, but even then it's usually more about "hidden gems", or maybe the very worst games for some laughs. (Which is great!) But going through each publisher like this is a very fun and bite-sized way of going much more in-depth into the NES library, and I'm really glad you've been making these. The newer ones on the SNES are great as well.
I worked for Sculptured Software when it was bought by Acclaim Entertainment. We did some good SNES stuff. I think that the reason Acclaim went out of business is that they tried to buy too many companies.
Love the music for iron sword. Rare was just among the best. NARC grew on me quick. And as bad as Wrestlemania was, friends and I beat it to bits with tournaments. Bigfoot was hours of endless fun
Giving Tiger heli a "D", hurt my feelings. I never played the arcade, but as a nes game it's fun and enjoyable. Nothing ground breaking but a solid game
Yeah it's a fun game and has a great "Iron Maidenish" tune too. By the way, my second video I made on UA-cam was a Tiger Heli points trick video way back in 2008! :D
I was figuring it would get a C. It's a hard game because of how bart controls.... but not a horrible game. Bart vs the world I though was better, thinking it deserved at least a C if not a B.
@@stephens9772 I had both bart vs the space mutants and bart vs the the world. Played vs the world a lot more. I barely ever got past the second level of space mutants. But at that point in time, Simpsons episodes were great.. so the games were just a natural must have. I dont remember how I got em, but played vs the world quite a bit!
Akklaim had a little bit of everything for a little bit of everyone. They had movie licensing. They had TV show licensing, they had shooters, they had platformers, they had arcade ports, they had a lot of a lot with Akklaim.
Double Dragon II is an solid S! One of the best NES games ever… the gameplay is good, excellent graphics and music, cutscenes, and OK difficulty. Good to play alone, but best to play with a friend
10:45 1985 Super Mario Bros had the run and action (fireball) functions mapped to the same button which is the template they should of implemented instead for of jump and run mapped to the same button. Also preferable to equipping an item each time you want to run as you're suggesting.
I like this series of videos. They bring to light certain games I haven't thought about in a long time. I didn't even know there was a Wizards & Warriors III. I'd have given Wrestlemania a D purely out of nostalgia.
@harjinder kalkat yeah. The reason its knocked down to C from S is as follows. 1. Its not the Simpsons game we were all hoping for. It should have been more about fighting the space mutants than collecting items. Plus the items made no sense. Except for maybe the nuclear plant. 2. The controls were poorly done. But it was possible to get used to the controls. And the platforming was fun. . It had secrets. And it actually looked pretty good. Definitely not a D
Tiger-Heli rocked and still does today. The game was amazing for the time, especially with the NES's limitations, and the music is also great! How could you NOT love this game! S all the way!!!
I played the heck out of Double Dragon 2 and Swords & Serpents. I totally agree with Swords & Serpents coming out of nowhere. The password system for it tho.... ugh lol
Let's Rank Milton Bradley games (Time Lord, baby!) ua-cam.com/video/b0IM9XGuacs/v-deo.html
Let's Rank OCEAN NES games ua-cam.com/video/8fwUymaZTSI/v-deo.html
Your lucky your not local..I would make you my buddy😁
JohnRiggs code master games please :) . Huge fan
@JohnRiggs Your *LET'S RANK PLAYLIST* has unrelated videos from other channels.
IMO JohnRiggs has reinvented the retro review genre. I can’t stop watching his videos. Love his honest review style.
Wiz and warrior was great, tiger heli should have been ranked higher.
Double Dragon 2 is an easy S. Good moveset, good graphics, a badass soundtrack, more levels, faster gameplay than the arcade version, and I always found the controls very easy to use. I also liked the added platforming as I am not a fan of beat em ups that are nothing but WALK>FIGHT>WALK>FIGHT>WALK>FIGHT.
The platform jumping at the end is impossible without game genie. But it doesn't matter DD2 is still one of the best games for the NES. It help set the standard fir beat em ups.
@@jaybee9679 As a kid I remember being stuck at the haunted mansion for a while. Now I can do that part in my sleep. I never found the trap zone platforming very difficult (and I'm no platforming ace).
@@jaybee9679it is far from impossible, just need some moderate level of skill
@tbewin1z143 whatever you say man.
@@jaybee9679 I literally beat it tons of times as a kid. You are most likely one of these younger gamers used to save states and easy difficulty.
Honestly, these NES rankings by publisher have re-invigorated my thirst for retro gaming videos on YT. I was actually concerned with channels that cover retro games (or mostly retro) as there is major retro gaming saturation (along with burnout on my end) with reviews, playthrough's, etc. Something as simple as these ranking videos are oddly a breath of fresh air, and I very much look forward to them.
Thanks! I want to think so. Gotta show the good with the bad. Everyone can do Mega Man but gotta show my homies Wizards and Warriors and more some love.
It's actually got me interested in picking up some of the bad games, just to see what they're all about. Lol
Love that scene in total recall when he has to fight past that wall of gloryholes.
😄😁😆😅🤣😂
I'll never get tired of watching these ranking videos.
Wizards and Warriors is an A for me. Some of my favorite NES music. Great list again.
At least an A. I don't really see a reason it's not S tier. It's up there with games like Zelda and punch out.
John, you think you'll ever do a ranking series like this on SNES games? That would be amazing!
Eventually, for sure. Sooner than later.
@@JohnRiggs WTF? So... Total Recall has a gloryhole! LOL
I always thought "Ack! Lame!" When it came to Acclaim. Especially towards the end
Lol that is funny, and about right😆 but there were some good games, but yeah toward the end that would be correct
@@matthewlane518 at least they had their own Captain N rip off show: THE POWER TEAM! Starting: Bigfoot, guy from Arch Rivals, NARC guy, and Wizards&Warriors guy
@@MCastleberry1980 lol
Airwolf music is pretty rad, it was close to the TV show music
The famicom version is very different and based on the arcade
I remember renting Simpson games from the grocery store. And being so mad at them for being hard. Even krusty I didn't know what to do.
i would consider rambo one of those "proto-metroidvanias" kinda like simon's quest and rygar
George Foreman's KO boxing gets better if you figure it out and stick with it. It has some similarities to Punch Out as you figure out the patterns of the enemies.
Thou Hast Discovered Gems! Man, i love me some Wizards & Warriors.
I think Smash TV is one of the coolest experiences on the NES when you use the four-player adapter. Two-player simultaneous with twin stick shooters (two nes controllers held vertically with D-pads at top). It makes the game so much better and bumps it up to S tier for me.
My dad use to LOVE Tiger Heli. He would play for hours. That and Duck Hunt
Wizards and warriors was a s in my book. At the time I did not need a game genie I did not have to read a Nintendo power magazine for tips. I could set down and have fun and feel like I got something done while enjoying playing the game. Some times I really don’t understand how you rate these games but in my book it was a solid S.
How many game overs did you get? Be honest.
My older sister had Wizards and Warriors and lent it to me a couple times. I could never make sense of what I was supposed to be doing. I also didn't get why a knight in full armor with a lance would be jumping across treetops.
100% agreed. It had inventive items and was fun to explore. You never knew what you'd be doing in a given level until you get there, and the whole game had a very late 80s arcade feel to it, especially the boss fights. Definite S-tier classic for me.
W&W is top-tier for me too, it was the closest i got to finishing an NES game as a kid. really good music too.
Yeah. it is an early NES, classic RARE (developed) game that doesn't belong among the other Acclaim games. S here too.
I agree Double Dragon II: The Revenge is the best of the trilogy, in fact, is one of my top 3 NES games of all time, also, I love the Wizards & Warriors series, we will never know what happened to Kuros in the ending of the third installment since there was no 4th game, I wish there was a kickstarter with the original team who made the game to make a 4th game and complete Kuros destiny.
Double Dragon II & Super Double Dragon for the SNES are two of my all-time favorite beat em’ Ups outside of Streets of Rage 2, Final Fight, and those Konami Arcade four-player games.
I used to spend hours playing destination earthstar, its a game i still like. You have to defeat the enemy ships to unlock the hidden base planet and theres other planets to explore to get fuel and weapons upgrades.
4:27 That's definitely a Lambda class Imperial shuttle.
Wizards and Warriors is BY FAR the best of the list. The music is so good. I especially love the little ditty when you're close to death.
That WWF WrestleMania game is the main reason I was waiting for an Acclaim list on this channel. I think the music should bump it to a D, but everything else about it was mediocre. I think Andre and Ted DiBiase were the only ones to not get their actual theme songs translated into the game, but that could also be because at the time not EVERY wrestler had his own theme music and they slapped something into theme for the game. But dangit if that 8-bit version of "Real American" didn't get me pumped every time I played this game.
Andre never had theme music, and DiBiase didn't get his until later. Calling it mediocre is too kind, only a few of the 6 wrestlers had that ridiculous looking body slam, which was really hard to execute, as was a simple pin. It's unforgivable compared to Pro Wrestling from a year earlier.
One of the wrestlers (DiBiase I think? Maybe Bigelow) had the Strike Force theme song which was always off-putting to me.
These ranking videos are amazing Mr. Riggs.
I love these episodes.. When your done with the nes, maybe it will become SNES time
I need to do SNES and Genesis sooner than later.
You always have my thumbs up.👍🏽
That's a great point! It makes me kind of sad to think about John eventually getting to the end of this super fun video lineup. An SNES one would be really fun.
You haven't done Taito yet have you, John? I would LOVE to see that one done next! Or if you feel like taking on something light (after dealing with Acclaim's beefy library) a Vic Tokai video would be fun.
I haven't done either, yet. I did just finish recording footage for the Vic Tokai video so that will be soon.
Hi, new to the channel but I've been liking what I see. The nostalgic vibes you conjure are amazing. I'm surprised I haven't seen anybody post about The Power Team. The cartoon from the 90s that came on during the show video Power. It featured characters from games that were licensed by Acclaim. Almost all of which I think we're mentioned in this video.
Side note. Did nobody think that maybe they could have listed Honky Tonk Man's name differently in the WWF game?? Just having his name as Honky is kind of hilarious.
"Its worth looking at just to see"
We've all been there
Arch Rivals. Forgot about that one. Spent hours playing that one as a kid.
Destination Earthstar is a game I got early on the NES. If you think Bigfoot needs a manual then Destination Earthstar needs it even more so. It's a mix of spaceflight sim and shooter (once you destroy all the enemies in a sector the base will appear and then you enter the shooter mode).
The Wizards and Warriors games have a lot going for them, outside of the terrible combat that is. If only it had an actual attack that didn't involve just running into enemies with your sword. That said, I would have liked to see this one brought back in some fashion.
HELL YEAH! AN Ironsword re-make.
Agreed, these games have a bit of something special about them in spite of the wonky swordplay. The jump is a far more useful method of attack than the stab, which isn't intuitive at all given you're a heavily armoured knight. If only a part 4 had materialized during the 16-bit generation! Would absolutely love to see another action/exploration platformer done in the W&W style.
RARE
I liked this game as a kid, and I tried getting back into it recently but I can’t. I don’t remember the swordplay being so broken. I get killed by everything it seems impossible. Any tips or tricks for using the sword?
Yeah, I jump into enemies more than use my sword - until I get the throwing items.
I think Double Dragon II is the best game ever published by Acclaim.
I played that game to death back in the day. Mashing the A+B buttons really hurt your thumbs, lol.
@@XENOS_Indie_Game_Dev It's one of my most played games and always used Game Genie no matter what game I played that wasn't sports.
@@Wheels8504 My brother and I beat Double Dragon 2 so many times, we didn't need to cheat. It was just fun playing through the levels and laughing at some of the goofy stuff in the game.
@@XENOS_Indie_Game_Dev I was 4 or 5 years old when my parents bought my siblings and I the NES. So I had to use Game Genie since I was so young. I still use it today just for the fun of it and great memories.
We used to call the super knee in Double Dragon II the ULTRA KNEE. It's also the most devastating maneuver in all of sports entertainment when performed by Daniel Bryan.
I would've given WWF WrestleMania a G. That game is nightmare fuel.
The music was the only decent thing.
I had 3D World Runner and kind of loved it? There is more variety as it progresses. The 3D was neat every once in a while.
I remember finding every NES Simpsons game to be agony. I had Bartman and those bouncing tires were so obnoxious.
Cybernoid is an 8-bit microcomputer game, ported to the NES. It plays like the tunnel shmups of the time.
These videos are consistently excellent. This channel has become my favorite for retro games, hands down. Over all the other MJR crew folks as well. Keep up the great work!! Retro is where it's at!
Hard foul on Double Dragon III. I get that you didn't connect with it, but damn as a kid that game was everything. Best in the series for me. So cool to get the Kung fu and Ninja guy to mix up the gameplay.
15:20 I like the sound of landing in the snow lol. I remember that sound. "....tfft"
Double Dragon 2 is actually my favorite NES game of all time😅
You nailed the Simpsons rankings perfectly. While playable and a little fun, the terrible controls make them beyond frustrating. And I loved Swords and Serpents when I was a kid, I remember feeling like I was in the dungeon. Great game for its time.
Ironsword is an A+ for me. That game is top tier. The music, the game play. I love the sound effects better than Zelda. When you find a treasure. Ironsword is a true hidden gem on the Nintendo NES.
As a kid I remember seeing the later levels in Nintendo Power and thinking to myself, "I'll never see those in person", and I didn't after renting the game a few times. Playing it as an adult, it wasn't too bad. The game punished you for getting frustrated and sloppy. You have to be on point with where you need to go. Plus, once I understood that the elementals were as hidden as this is a hidden gem, I ended up getting pretty far. If I recall, the the password system kind of stinks because you literally restore back to the lives, health, and weapons you had at that time. You could load your password as many times as you want, but you might immediately die if you weren't in good shape. I played it on an emulator, but I refuse to use save states.
It's super awesome. I need to play through it again.
You can never unhear that sound effect. It just played in my head when I read your comment and I haven't tried the game again since back in the day.
Love these uploads! I remember staying at a hotel as a kid, the Game Room had Xenophobia and Arch Rivals
Cybernoid was made for the ZX Spectrum but had a later port for the C64 which has killer music. The second game was more of the same.
Rambo is semi Metroidvania imo, because it does have that open exploration, but you don't really get items to progress, you can technically progress without getting them if you're good enough. That's a game that I had a love-hate relationship with. Lately I do enjoy it, though it's not as polished as similar games like Zelda 2 or Faxanadu, it's still very solid. Props to Acclaim for copying Zelda 2 and getting it out here fast enough to beat Zelda 2 here. 😂
I forgot all about Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge! Loved the little white reflections on the wheels as you sped up.
Double Dragon II is the very best except for the end boss.
I don't really enjoy the platforming aspects either.
@@xflarearcadia1766 Yep, that's fairly accurate to the arcade though, where the sudden platforming partway through the game with janky jump control was intended to eat quarters.
The end boss is badass. I like how when you knock off half his life the background changes and the epic final showdown music kicks in.
@@xflarearcadia1766 Me too, which was by far my biggest complaint about the N.E.S. Double Dragon games. I mean this was supposed to be fighting, not Super Mario Bros. for God's sake! (L.O.L.!)
I'm glad you at least gave Arch Rivals a B. Arch Rivals was one of my favorite games on the system. I admit i loved the sports games as a kid. I had a bunch of them and whenever i got a new game, it was generally a sports game, but Arch Rivals was my favorite. I played that all the time.
Cybernoid is probably rough cause it's a port of an old ZX Spectrum computer game.
I’ve enjoyed every one of these so far thank you so much.
It does really highlight how important development studio was. Akklaim always had a reputation for at best mediocrity as a kid, but I had no idea they were doing things like publishing the content of Rare and Technos.
i love STAR VOYAGER and finished it. in order to get to your destination, you have to go on your map, calculate how many times your marker on the map will get to your destination, set that marker there, and when you speed up your ship, you have have your warp build up to that many times of your marker. for example, if you want to get to the planet or enemy, and it takes five moves to get to that destination, you have to wait till the upper right side of the screen builds up to that many times. be carful, the diamond shape of the dots is the black hole and the square shape of the dots are the astroid belts. also, the x's are the enemy,u have to go to each planet to find your upgrade for your lasers and for your shield barrier. also, somewhere in space is an object, if you shoot it close enough, you'll get a bomb too. it takes at least 3 speed machs to land on the planet or port at a space station. be careful though because the enemies are heading toward your main blue base, and once that's destroyed, you lose
“I love this game. It’s excellent....B” 🤣
I had so much fun playing Arch Rivals with my cousins growing up. I'm not big on sports games, but the punching is fun.
I love these rating videos. Thanks Mr. Riggs. Looking forward to your top 10 all time NES games. 😉😉 Keep these coming too, bro.
I really should do one sometime.
@@JohnRiggsabsolutely! I know you and I have a very high opinion of Blaster Master so I'd like to see where that one would rank. ;)
Princess Tomato is #1 I bet. Contra? Not even on the list. Cope.
Thanks for yet another fun-filled video, John! I thoroughly enjoyed it as always and the only games we seem to disagree on are the "3's" of the group. I personally love both Double Dragon III and Wizards and Warriors III and I think the reason why so many don't like them (you actually like DD3 more than most...thanks for at least giving it a C!) is that both games have a learning curve and in the case of WW3, the game feels and plays a lot different. With DD3, it's actually quite fun with two players and there are several "hidden" moves like where you jump and grab a foe by the hair and throw them that are really fun to execute. Double-tapping and running and doing a jump kick actually causes slightly more damage I believe and Chin is a BEAST at simply punching enemies and wiping them out quickly. I learned a lot of little nuances playing that game so much as a kid. :) Also, I loved the whole "stealth" element of WW3 and how you wanted to be a knight/thief/wizard at certain times and how you were essentially trying to sneak into the castle to face an old foe. The underground/underworld area was pretty sweet too (I still remember the battle against the dragon very late in the game.) In any case, I would hang in there with those two games, John. They are hidden gems but it takes some real time playing both games to really see them in that light. I agree with you on everything else though. Double Dragon 2 is fantastic and Smash TV is solid as well. I felt the SAME way playing Cybernoid btw. Just a strange game (feels like a Commodore 64 title for some reason). Keep up the great work man! Your videos rock!
Wrestlemania Challenge was light years ahead of Wrestlemania. I had WC as a kid and I must have spent endless hours playing it! Even after beating every mode, with every wrestler. Absolutely adored Wrestlemania Challenge!
Need to do games by “Rare” John. Snake rattle n roll
He's going by publisher, not developer. Nintendo published that.
He could do a "compilation" episode like that where he splices in clips from other episodes like that, that's some easy viewage.
You're becoming one of my favorite channels bro. Good stuff
Loved wizards and warriors. 2 not so much and 3 never knew it existed
Part one was a cake walk. Part 2 was much more difficult, I think I never made it past the fire boss.
I couldn't get over the derp eyes on the knight in part 2. Part 1 was fantastic!
Arch Rivals was originally made in the arcades by Midway, which Acclaim was actually a division of, believe it or not. Moreover, Arch Rivals made the NBA Jam, NFL Blitz/Blitz: the League, MLB Slugfest, and NHL Hitz franchises exist, as well as, ironically enough, hits for the company that would later buy the NBA Jam license in EA with their games of Mutant League Football and Mutant League Hockey, and it even influenced the early Madden titles as well.
I had Destination Earthstar since new and only recently sold it. Only NES game I had zero regrets getting rid of.
Double Dragon 2 is great, is the Streets of Rage of the NES...a lot of moves, level design, variety, amazing soundtrack.....it's a total blast, a must play.
I hate it when people don't realize you DO have a gun to shoot things in World Runner 3D.
Really like your videos... very down to earth and relatable dude. Thanks for the entertaining content!
Thanks buddy.
Wow, I gotta check out Swords & Serpents someday. That game is right up my alley. Still finding out about new games all these years later, lol.
I forgot to mention, but it's also four-player if you have the 4-player tap.
Hurts my heart to see Tiger-Heli a 'D'. I loved this game and played it soooo much with my friends. I have never played the arcade version though, so not comparing it to that, just how much fun it was.
Aklaim masters of the game! Lol ah the memories.
I love the Airwolf game. I played that so much. It got hard after level 9. The back of the box said 20 missions. When I finally reached and beat level 20, it kept going. I made it to level 22. I think it just keeps going. It was difficult, it should be a B, but that's me.
I was never much of a fan of wizards and warriors because the controls didn't do it justice. My cousins had it but never let me play it. I rented it and couldn't get into it.
I bought a copy some years ago and I still can't get past the controls. That's just me.
Nice video, I hadn't played most of those. Time I catch up on my retro gaming.
i have been watching watching your videos for a few years now i love your positive attitude . its like im watching a friend...keep up the good work
Surprised there as no mention how how DIFFICULT Double Dragon III is on the NES (compared to part II especially)
AFAIK Cybernoid was originally designed for the microcomputers that were popular in Europe at the time (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, etc). Even its NES incarnation has definitely got a very Euro-microcomputer feel to it which is probably why it comes across as an early NES homebrew.
One of my fondest NES memories is playing Swords and Serpents with a group of four eating and drinking one Halloween night with Rock music playing
I love these videos of yours!! I grew up with the SNES and although I've always loved older games, I ended up only playing the classics from the NES era -- Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, etc. Of course the extensive retro content on the internet is a great way to expand that, but even then it's usually more about "hidden gems", or maybe the very worst games for some laughs. (Which is great!) But going through each publisher like this is a very fun and bite-sized way of going much more in-depth into the NES library, and I'm really glad you've been making these. The newer ones on the SNES are great as well.
I worked for Sculptured Software when it was bought by Acclaim Entertainment. We did some good SNES stuff. I think that the reason Acclaim went out of business is that they tried to buy too many companies.
Bart’s Nightmare for SNES was a great game
@@TrainmasterCurt I agree.
Unlimited Continues in Wizards & Warriors? Man I would´ve wished for that in the Game Boy Game!
I would have wished for that in Ironsword!
Love the music for iron sword. Rare was just among the best.
NARC grew on me quick. And as bad as Wrestlemania was, friends and I beat it to bits with tournaments.
Bigfoot was hours of endless fun
Double Dragon II: The Revenge is my favorite NES game (except level 7. **** level 7 with the gears, and the conveyor belts).
I enjoyed Tiger Heli on the NES quite a bit. I even had a joystick shaped like a helicopter control.
Man, I remember playing NARC as a kid on new years eve stating up until midnight. Man that was good fun!
Giving Tiger heli a "D", hurt my feelings. I never played the arcade, but as a nes game it's fun and enjoyable. Nothing ground breaking but a solid game
Yeah it's a fun game and has a great "Iron Maidenish" tune too. By the way, my second video I made on UA-cam was a Tiger Heli points trick video way back in 2008! :D
I love Tiger Heli too
Me too. Very fun with a turbo controller.
What a Riggs-orously researched ranking
Love this series of videos
Man, I loved the simpsons vs the aliens game, I was thinking nostalgic was making me say an A but that you would give it a B lol
I was figuring it would get a C. It's a hard game because of how bart controls.... but not a horrible game.
Bart vs the world I though was better, thinking it deserved at least a C if not a B.
@@brandonkick to be fair, I have not played it since I was a kid and rented it from blockbuster a couple times. I always wanted to but never got it.
@@stephens9772 I had both bart vs the space mutants and bart vs the the world. Played vs the world a lot more. I barely ever got past the second level of space mutants. But at that point in time, Simpsons episodes were great.. so the games were just a natural must have.
I dont remember how I got em, but played vs the world quite a bit!
for me that game is a solid A. I had that game. but it's not for everybody.
Wizards and Warriors the original, at least, belongs in A tier if not S. Soooo GOOD! Thanks John, love the content.
I really liked the Ferrari game. The music, in particular, was awesome on it.
Akklaim had a little bit of everything for a little bit of everyone. They had movie licensing. They had TV show licensing, they had shooters, they had platformers, they had arcade ports, they had a lot of a lot with Akklaim.
Othello is awesome, my Mom loved this game to no end , we played it all the time, its nowhere near an F, come on man.
Double Dragon II is an solid S! One of the best NES games ever… the gameplay is good, excellent graphics and music, cutscenes, and OK difficulty. Good to play alone, but best to play with a friend
10:45 1985 Super Mario Bros had the run and action (fireball) functions mapped to the same button which is the template they should of implemented instead for of jump and run mapped to the same button. Also preferable to equipping an item each time you want to run as you're suggesting.
3D world runner did have a weapon, but you had to run into the pillars in the beginning and pick up the rocket powerup icon to get an attack
I like this series of videos. They bring to light certain games I haven't thought about in a long time. I didn't even know there was a Wizards & Warriors III. I'd have given Wrestlemania a D purely out of nostalgia.
Double dragon 2 was the best beat em up on the nes. And the wizards and warriors series was awesome as heck to boot.
Ironsword: music...DAVID WISE AGAIN!! SOOOO GOOOOD!!
David Wise is amazing in virtually everything he worked on.
@@kekeke8988 Absolutely!
I hated Othello so much as a kid lol. I never won a single match. And I never got past that ship level on Bart Simpson vs the world
Knight Rider was another guilty pleasure of mine. I rented it a lot even though I never got very far in it.
Nice to see Double Dragon 2 ranked as A. Definitely a fantastic sequel! I’ve never heard of the Bartman and Radioactive Man. Thanks Riggs!
I liked the Simpsons games. As frustrating as they were. I still had a lotbof fun playing them. Definitely a sklid C for me
@harjinder kalkat yeah. The reason its knocked down to C from S is as follows. 1. Its not the Simpsons game we were all hoping for. It should have been more about fighting the space mutants than collecting items. Plus the items made no sense. Except for maybe the nuclear plant. 2. The controls were poorly done. But it was possible to get used to the controls. And the platforming was fun. . It had secrets. And it actually looked pretty good. Definitely not a D
Had Cybernoid as a kid...was so frustrating!
I agree!! and so weird
NBA JAM T.E. is an S Tier if there ever was one.
F tier. Sports games are lame.
NBA Jam is Super NES.
Riggs is doing NES games for now.
Those were the days ❤
I put a lot of hours in on bart vs the space mutants. You get used to the jumping. The carnival level was my favorite
Tiger-Heli rocked and still does today. The game was amazing for the time, especially with the NES's limitations, and the music is also great! How could you NOT love this game! S all the way!!!
I would like this type of series for any classic system!
I played the heck out of Double Dragon 2 and Swords & Serpents. I totally agree with Swords & Serpents coming out of nowhere. The password system for it tho.... ugh lol