Kung Fu (NES)

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Herschie
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Kung Fu (NES)

Postby Herschie » December 29th, 2019, 3:19 am

Had this been 1985, I'd probably be in bed right now because it's quarter to 3 in the morning, and most 4 year olds are asleep at such time. I'm not watching the Bears this weekend because their win in the Silverdome last Sunday put them at 15-1, and so I wouldn't be watching them during the Wild Card round. And this was long before I figured out that weed and video games go together like peanut butter and crackers (But at least I had that figured out by the time Mario Kart 64 was released).

Also, I would have been far more impressed with this game. Because if you remember that we're coming off the Atari age and the infamous video game crash, no game that I can think of was like this. And despite some of the brain-dead enemies, I still enjoyed this a few days before the roaring 20s.

It's just that this formula has been vastly improved upon (Unlike the Bears, they DEFINITELY have not improved since 1985). Still, is it just me, or do these black-box games have a certain charm to them?

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 29th, 2019, 9:44 am

What is a black box game?

Herschie
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby Herschie » December 29th, 2019, 12:29 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:What is a black box game?


Those early games made and published by Nintendo. Games such as 10-yard Fight, Mario Bros., and Baloon Fight.

jon
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby jon » December 29th, 2019, 4:02 pm

Oh boy, playing video games under the influence of cough cough "alcohol" is awesome. Especially arcade games. But the graphics must be good. I'm a graphics whore at this point. I cracked my Twisted Metal 2 cd into pieces on purpose after a tough loss. It's one thing to lose. It's another to lose while staring at hideously ugly graphics. I'd had enough. 10 yard fight was a game that I liked way back.

snakeboy
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby snakeboy » December 29th, 2019, 6:03 pm

Herschie wrote:
VideoGameCritic wrote:What is a black box game?


Those early games made and published by Nintendo. Games such as 10-yard Fight, Mario Bros., and Baloon Fight.


Examples:
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ThePixelatedGenocide
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » December 30th, 2019, 3:22 am

Herschie wrote:Had this been 1985, I'd probably be in bed right now because it's quarter to 3 in the morning, and most 4 year olds are asleep at such time. I'm not watching the Bears this weekend because their win in the Silverdome last Sunday put them at 15-1, and so I wouldn't be watching them during the Wild Card round. And this was long before I figured out that weed and video games go together like peanut butter and crackers (But at least I had that figured out by the time Mario Kart 64 was released).

Also, I would have been far more impressed with this game. Because if you remember that we're coming off the Atari age and the infamous video game crash, no game that I can think of was like this. And despite some of the brain-dead enemies, I still enjoyed this a few days before the roaring 20s.

It's just that this formula has been vastly improved upon (Unlike the Bears, they DEFINITELY have not improved since 1985). Still, is it just me, or do these black-box games have a certain charm to them?


I think the charm is that they're all doing what the Famicom was designed to do. 3 color sprites that still seem impressed with how many colors that is, on a single sprite! And the lack of polish gives them all a hand drawn innocence. It's like the kind of graph paper pixel art you'd play with to kill time in study hall.

They're just simple, unpretentious fun. And in our complicated world, that will always be an underrated virtue.

With that said, it's fun to compare this to the later released 2600 demake port, where the aging hardware was pushed to the limit in almost every single way it can be. With games like this, you'd never guess Atari's most popular system was only designed to play Pong and Combat.

Which was why, instead of celebrating the system's library for the programming miracles it really represented, everyone else I knew back in the mid to late 80's only used the word "Atari" as a synonym for kusoge. Meanwhile, the NES's graphical limitations became so instantly iconic, that even in the 21st century, popular indie games referencing the aesthetic can still sell millions of copies.

Herschie
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby Herschie » December 30th, 2019, 12:37 pm

ThePixelatedGenocide wrote: Meanwhile, the NES's graphical limitations became so instantly iconic, that even in the 21st century, popular indie games referencing the aesthetic can still sell millions of copies.


This! Graphical limitations tend to bring a certain charm to it, no matter what system. That's why one of my favorite things to do is look for them. Zelda is a great example. I love busting out my Gamecube and looking in the distance at some of the trees in Twilight Princess. It's interesting to see the lack of detail things have in the distance, as we're not supposed to be focusing on them. Or on the N64, there's definitely much charm to be had. Such as the razor thin fences or in Majora's Mask, if you look at the clouds in the distance at Goron Village, you can see that the clouds in the distance are just razor-thin grey and white bands that are moving to look like clouds.

That's why whenever I see these remakes using the Unreal engine on Youtube, I never quite get that same warm feeling, and it's why I generally prefer original games over any HD remakes, with the exception of Wind Waker.

lynchie137
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby lynchie137 » January 20th, 2020, 1:44 pm

Herschie, I have to wonder. Have you ever played the 2600 port of this game? If so, what did you happen to think of it?

Herschie
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Re: Kung Fu (NES)

Postby Herschie » January 22nd, 2020, 2:23 am

lynchie137 wrote:Herschie, I have to wonder. Have you ever played the 2600 port of this game? If so, what did you happen to think of it?


I haven't. Let me see if it's on Ebay.

Yes, Critic, I used the Ebay link from this site.


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