Barbie (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- A playthrough of Hi Tech Expressions' 1991 license-based platformer for the NES, Barbie.
Wildly popular and highly controversial since her introduction to the American public in 1959, Mattel’s Barbie has provided young girls a fashion savvy, boy crazy friend on whom they could depend to provide countless hours of entertainment. Throughout their lengthy tenure at toy stores domestic and abroad, these iconic fashion model dolls have been exploited to endorse and advertise products in several different marketing sectors - by the 1990s, Barbie’s shiny plastic visage could be seen gazing longingly at consumers from a full range of branded “girl” products, including books, clothes, perfume, and a pink Corvette Power Wheels electric car.
Despite being upheld as a role model for girls ages 3-9, Barbie has committed several presupposed social faux pas over the course of her lengthy shelf life. Having come to be regarded as a prominent thorn in the side of the modern, liberated woman, Barbie has been subjected to intense scrutiny by social crusaders for half a century: her dangerously unhealthy body proportions, alleged anti-feminist agenda, and the willful reinforcement of disempowering stereotypes (courtesy her fixation on shopping and the color pink) have all secured her perpetual placement in the crosshairs of both the media and of advocacy groups. But eager to take up the mantle in Barbie’s fashioning as a social pariah, Hi-Tech Expressions’ NES game Barbie furthers this cause successfully by providing a vehicle through which the unsuspecting preteen girl is fed thinly veiled, ham-fisted social commentary, fittingly complemented by an utterly banal example of platform gaming.
Our somewhat modern, albeit hilariously irrelevant, portrayal of an American teenage girl all begins “once upon a dream.” Late one evening, Barbie relaxes in bed curled up with her favorite book (about mermaids, what else?), thinking about all the things that she has to do the following day. With a packed schedule that includes having lunch, going swimming, buying an outfit, and going to a party with Ken, she makes the prudent and responsible decision to turn in for the night.
The instant she closes her eyes, Barbie steps into the most fantastic of dreams. Envisioning the fun she’ll have the next day, Barbie’s imagination carries her through five stages, each representing a mental projection of the anticipation and excitement she feels. Exploring the mall, the beach, and the soda shop, Barbie has to overcome deadly obstacles (possibly birthed as manifestations of Barbie’s own sense of self-loathing) to piece together the perfect ensemble for her evening with Ken.
At the shopping mall, Barbie must take care to avoid being injured by a wide variety of aggressive consumer goods including sporting equipment, beach balls, and possessed tank tops while navigating around sporadically functioning fountains filled with leaping fish. As she narrowly avoids becoming a victim of capitalist greed, Barbie should be on the lookout to collect large coins stamped with her initial - if successful, she can make a wish by throwing them into a fountain at the end of the area, thus granting her a visit from a toucan who gifts her with a beautiful ball gown.
Once finishing at the mall, Barbie visits the beach, where she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a mermaid. Dodging dangerous currents and homogenously assembled legions of ill-tempered seahorses and jellyfish, a flippered Barbie must collect pearls and rescue the king and queen crabs from their kidnapper. Successfully completing the jailbreak, Barbie may return the found pearls to a huge oyster, who will show his appreciation by giving her a gorgeous sparkling tiara.
Finally, Barbie hurries toward an Elvis-era soda shop where she must remain on guard from coffee cups, hamburgers, energetic french fries and a massive ice cream sundae, all while collecting gold records. Upon successfully escaping the soda shop, Barbie can use the records to form a magical stairway leading to a pedestal in the sky where a dazzling pair of glass slippers lie in wait.
The graphics and sound in Barbie aren’t awful, but they’re extremely unappealing, and the controls, though responsive, are super stiff.
It's not by any means broken or unplayable, but Barbie‘s NES debut comes across as a gratuitous cash grab. Little girls from the early 1990s would have likely been enticed by the prospect of playing a Barbie videogame. Most, however, would have walked away with a sense of disappointment and frustration upon realizing that “games for girls” was really a just a euphemism for “games that suck because nobody cares enough about what young girl game players want to warrant more effort,” thus earning Barbie another point in the cultural sensitivity contest.
____
No cheats were used during the recording of this video
![NES Longplay [055] Batman](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qr0RSz-HPIw/mqdefault.jpg)
I never thought i would see this game again after 25 years. As a little boy i did not care about it being a girls game, i just feel like it brings back memories of the good old days.
I'm a boy, and I don't care what anyone says, I love Barbie.
@@princessCashel don't worry i won't judge you.
@@zal455 Thank you. ☺ And I won't judge you for liking this game.
@@princessCashel I don't like the game. I just feel like it brings back memories of the good old days. When I was a kid I was trying to complete any game that I could play. So you can feel free to judge me because it's ok to judge people if you are telling the truth.
@@zal455 Alright, now I understand. But I still won't judge you for playing it. I feel like that would be very hypocritical of me.
This was my favorite game when I was a little kid. It was so difficult for me! amazing memories. Thank you for sharing
What are you?? A Gurl??
@You Me Easy, pal. If they like Barbie, let them. No need to make a big deal out of it.
This brought back so many memories on a sat morning trying to beat this game ..Thank you
The mermaid level level music is still hauntingly beautiful as it was back then ❤ I’m 36 now & still has the cartridge & NES console.. time to play 💖
Does anyone else think the 8-bit cat meow is kind of adorable?
The basic sales and research data that Hi Tech Expressions examined in designing the game suggested that girls tended to prefer activity-based or puzzle-oriented games over the shoot-'em-up games that were popular at the time. To accommodate this preference, the team endeavored to include puzzles and mazes while avoiding any reference to blood and violence. The game was originally slated for release in October 1991, but delays caused it to be released two months later in December.
I LOVED this game as a kid. If i remember right even my brothers liked to play it 😂
There was always something ethereal about the music of this game. Hearing it brings me right back to watching my sisters play it.
Strap yourselves in and hold on to your hats, folks. Barbie's NES adventure is about to leave the station.
Good god, is this an embarrassment for the time. Around the early 90s, I'd say that the NES really had some top tier games. *_"Journey to Silius"_* , *_"Little Samson"_* , *_"Bucky O' Hare"_* .
*THIS* game is not but another game to add to the crap pile. Just inexcusable!
@Dorian Scott Tbh, I'd kinda love to see a Terminator game starring Barbie, especially if it used her sprite from this game with the jean jacket, frilly skirt, and the puffy side pony tail that wiggles around on her shoulder like a yellow ferret. Babs World, anybody?
It could be less pink and turquoise, though. There's way too much of both colors in this game.
Jesus Christ. I don't suppose you also burned the console on which you played the game from.
@@christopherthibeault7502 Nah, if that was ever going to happen, it would've been with Back to the Future 2 & 3
No bad New Jersey, Bad!
The hardest game on the NES was one I had to sneak from my sister.
Those music notes were evil
Milton’s secret castle looks harder tbh
This was the only game I had as a child in the 90s because my family was poor. We had no cable tv or movies or casettes or internet. All I had was a 13" tv, a nintendo and this game. My family didn't let me play outside but I sure had this Barbie Game. To be honest I just wanted to have a landline telephone or at least books to read or art supplies, but I should be grateful because I had this Barbie Game.
I never knew Barbie had her own video game until now
She had 100s of games over the years.
I didn’t know that
I thought it would be a good game to start October with. It's kinda scary.
@@NintendoComplete no kidding.
Yeah, there are a lot of them out there. But if i had to recommend one i'll say barbie life in the dreamhouse for the wii and the 3ds. Solid voice acting, nice music and fun mini games!
This is such a misunderstood game. When I first played it back in the mid 2000's, I thought it was a fun game. in fact, I had some really fond memories playing it during the august of 2008.
I love this game
come on barbie, let's go party Ah, ah, ah, yeah!
I played this game when it came out when I was little and hated it. It was SO HARD for like a 5 year old. 😂😂
Pretty sure I had nightmares of this shit..
Yeah it looks awful
I tried to play it again as an adult and its still hard lol, the music note level is the one I can’t get past.
Gotta love the lengthy description, worthy of a PhD :D
Hahaha tyvm :)
That jump sound is so irritating.
I think it's safe to say that this is the worst jump sound effect in video game history...
It sounds nice at first, but not only does it get annoying REALLY fast, it’s also probably the last noise you’d expect from a character jumping
@@henrytheanglerfish6290 That's why this game is so bad, it's good.
Thank you for this video it helped me and my wife beat the game
I adored this game; such a challenge!
But this player never pressed down to release lotsa secrets
I tried beating the DOS version of this game over on my channel and I absolutely could not do it, so thank you for beating this game and uploading it here! I've linked to your play through on the final episode of my series so people can actually see the final levels and ending lol
Haha there was a Dos version? Oh man, I'll have to take a look. Np, and tyvm! :)
@@NintendoComplete This is the superior version BY FAR the DOS version doesn't compare lol
I had this game as a kid. Ugh it was the only game I was allowed to play for a while. >.
I'm really sorry. That's some PTSD-worthy shit right there.
OMG MAJOR FLASH BACK!!
0:08
"Oh gosh! What have you done of yourself, Barbie! Why is your hair the same color as your skin?! Oh Gosh, It looks like you made out of fried chicken!"
JonTron brought me here
Lmao it's true! But not even the good kind. More like the type you'd find in the glass heating case on the counter in a gas station.
HOW DID YOU PLAY THROUGH THE LAST LEVEL LIKE IT WAS NOTHING DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY HOURS I SPENT TRYING TO LAND ON THAT SINGLE MUSIC NOTE
Yesssssss!!!
THE FKING BOUNCING CLOTHES I REMEMBER WATCHING IT BOUNCE AND NOT DOING ANYTHING.. I don’t think I figured out how to throw stuff but holy I remember the little dog and bird I played this when I was like 7 how have I just remembered
My sister and I played this on the computer when we were kids. We could never complete the game!
My favorite game i wish someone would buy me a Nintendo right now so I could get straight to it!!!
you can play it on your computer with an emulator
Margot Robbie truly does bear a resemblance to the Barbie doll.
The music and sound affects get me, love it
effects
Core memory unlocked 😂
I never finished it. Always trapped in the last level 🥺
Me I do many times that game. Was nice but is the bad then some types bring back the game from the start and that is boring.
Same! I didn't know it was the last level either. Today I learned I was THIS close to beating my first video game as a kid!
If I recall correctly I could never get past those gold gears that fall. I'd land on the keys and get send right back to the beginning until I quit from frustration.
last level was such a struggle, I still remember
That jump sound, make it stop.
That sound makes me think Barbie is being propelled into the air by farting jets of sprinkles and fairy dust. So whimsical! ... yeah, that sound is terrible.
Damn, I forgot I played this until a song solidified a memory in me.
Even my sister would not like this game and she had a lot of barbie dolls.
My 8yo and I like to play bad NES games. Found Barbie for $4 and knew we found a prized turd, lol. Beat the game in about a day.
Galleria is so frustrating because there is no flow or timing. You literally have to stop at every foutain or waterfall and wait to jump. The final music note level is tediously awful because you have to land and jump perfectly on platforms that are 2 to 4 pixels in size. Imagine a central vertical line drawn through Barbie because that's what the game sees as her. The player sees a large character with hair and feet going out when you jump so it often looks like you unfairly fall through objects only to get sucked back to the beginning of the level, again, and again...
I imagine this was marketed to younger girls but the gameplay and lack of any in-game hints makes it a pretty hard game for anyone going into it blind. I thought this was an early to mid NES title, but it came out in '91! Oof!😖
It’s surprising that this game didn’t get a remastered version to be a promotional release for the movie.
Sounds like Mega Man played reverse....
This was very similar to Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge (also published by Hi Tech Expressions) which replaced Barbie with M-I-C K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Legend says that Barbie never woke up
@@thatprettymagicalfan480 i play this game 2008
And people wonder why the GPAs of the Nintendo generation lags behind.
Que jogo difícil! Tive muito trabalho para zerar. Você joga tão bem todos os jogos que até parece trapaça kkkk Um dia quero ser boa como você❤
Do they make this for Nintendo switch?!!! It was my favorite as a kid! I need it back in my life!
Did boys play this game? 😅
"The graphics and sound in Barbie aren’t awful, but they’re extremely unappealing, and the controls, though responsive, are super stiff" - LOLL
That ugly sound effect when barbie jumps :X
Come on Barbie lets go party
*Plays Barbie Girl*
Fried Chicken Barbie.
comeonbarbieletsgoparty
Ah
ah
ah
yeah
OOT tss OOT tss OOT tss OOT tss OO-O-O-OOT-OOT
I'm down. Who's got the glow sticks?
Oh my god that lengthy description 😂
Lmao my bad, I guess I got a bit carried away.
@@NintendoComplete Nah dude, it's a real good look into the madness of Barbie.
@@ExtremeWreck Ha! Thanks :)
@@NintendoComplete You're welcome. Barbie truly is a wild rabbit hole compared to most other girls' toy franchises.
**Having flashbacks of JonTron's review**
I have seen competitive speed runs of this game. That was in the before time.
That's some bleak shit right there, bro.
"Before Time" what does that mean, like before Internet or UA-cam?
Played and passed this game several times in the 90s, with much frustration of the surprising difficultly of some levels. 😂
It's a cute game. Wonder why I didn't know about it?
I remember some of my younger cousins owning this game but the problem was that they didn’t have an NES I think they just saw it at a shop and bought it and because I had an NES and They would always bring it to my house when family would come over and they would play it non stop and I just watched very annoyed just wanting to play Mario bros or legend of Zelda 😢 then at some point I think the cartridge stopped working and it’s ether in their attic or it was thrown away they were very sad but I was happy to have my NES Back 😇
Damn nostalgia....
Reminds me a lot of Athena for some reason. Maybe the unapealing vibe that both games irradiate, tho Barbie has some killer tunes.
For any mattel fans there's also a thomas and friends nes game i recommended checking it out i just wish there was a hot wheels nes game
.....Nothing Special...that's all I have folks...
honestly it's pretty creepy that the clothing is just moving by its with no explanation. what strange, dark power controls it?
OMG it's a Barbie
Is it just me, or is Barbie sleeping in a really uncomfortable position? Like, that would cause back problems.
God, that jumping sound effect is SO fucking annoying!
Who’s here because of the new Barbie video game? I can’t decide whether to get it for the PlayStation or Nintendo.
*_"That one looks like Mickey! And that one looks like a Cease & Desist!"_* -Jon Jafari (JonTron)
I remember playing this game back in 1996 nes but i did got stuck because i didn’t know what i was supposed to do and so i eventually turned off from that game,in fact who had ever tout a video game based on a toy’s girl will be on a Nintendo system or any system???
Did they tryed to make the nes more attractive for girls with this game???
Maybe but ask yourself why not making the cartride of this barby game pink,why making a pink edition of the nes to make it more appealing for gilrs,is beyond me.
Anybody Here For Barbie's First Movie?
Barbie the movie rated PG 13 only in theaters July 21st
I... I got nothing.
Nice ❤
My sister used to play this and it always pissed me off.
Lol this game is awful i can imagine that the developers had no idea how to make a video game about Barbie they where probably forced by the publisher to rush the game out quickly so they just made the enemies random objects and everything else random too.
Fwiw, it was made by the same company that did stuff like The Simpsons games, Swamp Thing, and A Boy and His Blob.
@@NintendoComplete Imagineering Inc. Made this? No wonder the game is garbage!
Only for girls
I think even little girls will get bored of this terrible game in, like, 5 minutes.
As if women hadn't already been punished enough for being women through the ages
@@NintendoComplete exactly, thank you.
This game is for anybody
and gay doll collectors
Barbie would be talented at Nintendo complete
Woman simulator: 1960s edition
Why does she look stiff when she jumps?
2:00
SPOOOOOOOOOOOORTS!
ok.. the BGM is different than the other longplays of the same game. Different region maybe?
Jonnathan S it's a possibility.
I would probably assume he accidentally used an bootleg version of the game to play which included different music.
I honestly thought the NES was supposed to targeted for Boys only (kinda like the Game Boy)
The Nerd: No degeneracy is low enough to satisfy the shit-seeking gamer who decides to play Barbie on NES. We know that most games on NES are targeted towards young boys. So, here's one for the girls. As an adult male, why would I ever want to play this? Because I'm pathetic, and I'm asking for hell!
The Nerd: It starts with the most casual intro for any game I've ever seen. Barbie's reading a book about mermaids. Then she talks about going to bed and actually begins listing all the things she's going to do the next day. Swimming at the beach, having lunch, shopping at the mall, and meeting Ken at a party. Sounds like an exciting game already! Then she goes to sleep and the game begins. I wonder if this is supposed to be a real human Barbie or a plastic doll Barbie. From the way she moves, I'd say she's a plastic doll.
The Nerd: So the game is basically her dream. In case you ever wanted to know what Barbie dreams about. She dreams about a nursery that's been overtaken by a poltergeist. Tennis rackets are hitting balls all over the place, there's clothing flying around, she has to fight the invisible woman, there's a puppy dog that's helping her attack evil stockings or something, Toucan Sam gives her a lift. I wonder if there's any psychological meaning behind these dreams. Barbie's really fucked up in the head. Even the craziest psychopaths on Earth don't dream this shit.
The Nerd: The wallpaper's covered in roses, teddy bears, and baseballs. I guess you can say this game is balls to the wall. I can't help but notice how many balls are in the game. They're everywhere! Perhaps the meaning behind this is because she's obsessed with Ken's balls.
The Nerd: The first boss battle's like you're fighting a window shutter or laundry chute that causes earthquakes and shoots beach balls. What the hell is going on? What's stranger is how you beat the boss. You have to select the double arrow and throw your thingamajig at the cat which causes the cat to attack the laundry chute or whatever it is.
The Nerd: Then there's a part where you have to walk through a never-ending mall of fountains that shoot water up her dress. And there's fish that flop all over. This is one of those parts where you have to get the pattern down. It takes time and patience, but it never fucking ends. Ugh, this is way more difficult than I thought. Augh! Urrrgh!
The Nerd: I just got my ass handed to me by a Barbie game. This game is made for little girls and I can't even get past the first few stages. Fuck this game. Fucking Barbie. Plastic pink mall-shopping bimbo ball-craving bird-riding ghost-fighting fish-flopping psycho-dreaming hair-brained piece of shit! Go to Hell! (drinks Rolling Rock)
Ah, needed that massive dosage of testosterone in my life! Jokes aside... a pretty terrible game, all things considered. To be expected perhaps, but still...
It really seems terrible
Sports...
Hey mothers and fathers, want a strong female protagonist but, unfortunately, its a M rated series?
Bayonetta.
Jokes aside, that palette for the title screen with Barbie on it is not pleasing.
I'd suggest their own mothers first.
Que poca imaginacion
this game for girls didn't work very well but this game sucks
When my daughter was about to turn 6, she told me she wanted a Barbie doll. I looked down at her, told her as her father I know better than what she thinks she wants, and gave her a book about coding. She'll thank me one day.
Pinche juego difícil alv
Yassssss!
:D
One of the *WORST* NES titles, ever! Where to start?
NEGATIVES
• *Bad Sound Effects* (Jumping, especially)
• *Boring Music*
• *Bland Enemies to Get Past* (Clothing as enemies make sense [It's Barbie, after all], but these aren't even *CLOSE* to theatening!)
• *Poor Level Design* (One Word. *_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNG!_* )
• *Ugly Graphics* (Even for 1991 NES, it's bad. Lots of Pink, while making sense, given it's a Barbie game. But, at least *_TRY_* to diversify the color schemes, devs!)
The only POSITIVE is that this game is 20 minutes long. Gotta love it when bad games are over before you even know it!
Final Rating: 1/10
This is *INEXCUSABLE* for 1991!
It's like the developers *barely* cared about making a fun Barbie game for little girls.
Want a short and fun game that they'll like?
*_Disney's The Little Mermaid_* on NES.
Definitely a massive improvement over *THIS* .
😂😂😂😂😂
@@xxdeadchannelxx What's with all the *_"Laugh out Loud"_* emojis?
@@Dorian_Scott Because it's hilarious to hear your complaints about this game.
@@xxdeadchannelxx I wasn't really going for a comedic rant. I was just stating that this game has some serious *_PROBLEMS_* . Lots of them.
But hey, if it made you laugh. I'm glad for that.
I never understood the multiple emoji spamming thing. It's as lazy and ridiculous as text slang [U R GR8].
Why can't people just say things in a regular, normal fashion. Not like, (🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 LOL XD).
It's like I'm talking with a 2 year old who just learned how to text things.
Sorry if I put that many laughing emojis in it. I was just laughing really hard by your review of it. And yes, I do agree that this is a terrible game. I agree with all of your points except for the music in this game. I think the music is actually pretty good even though it is repetitive. But that's probably because of hardware limitations the NES has.
lo unico que me gusta es la cancion de la intro
"F*** this game. F***ing Barbie. Plastic pink mall-shopping bimbo ball-craving bird-riding ghost-fighting fish-flopping psycho-dreaming hair-brained piece of s***! Go to Hell!"
-The Angry Video Game Nerd (in the end of "The Making of an AVGN Episode" episode)