Punch-Out!! was, in part, literally born from the detritus of Nintendo’s bigger successes. The idea for this cartoon boxing game goes way back to 1983 and Nintendo’s arcade era. With hits like Donkey Kong under its belt, the company was buying tons of televisions to use in its arcade machines and was eventually stuck…
Uber’s been thirsty for some good press lately, what with the ride-sharing juggernaut’s unsavory business practices—from the spying to the sexism to its own CEO’s general douchiness—coming to light. They’ll be grateful, then, for the little bit of ingenuity displayed by a Durham, North Carolina Uber driver, who…
Games are often left unfinished. Sometimes they’re too difficult, too vast, or too repetitive to see all the way through to the closing credits. To The Bitter End is Gameological’s look at those endings that are worth fighting for—or at least worth reading about.
Madden editions come and go every year, but Tecmo Super Bowl is eternal. Created by Japanese game developer Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, this incredibly durable football video game will be celebrating its 25th anniversary next month. An affectionate article from The Ringer explains how Tecmo Super Bowl…
As evidenced by the runaway popularity of the NES Classic Edition in recent weeks, nostalgia for the golden age of Nintendo is alive and well in 2016. The Nintendo Entertainment System, that familiar grayish rectangle of childhood, can be said to have influenced the sensibilities of an entire generation in a profound…
Howdy, Gameologerinos, and welcome to our weekly thread for the discussion of weekend gaming plans and recent gaming glories. It’s been a tough week around these parts. I know it was hard for me to find the wherewithal to cobble my mind back together and write about some damn video games again. And judging by the…
Believe it or not, you can still play video games without going outside and risking getting mugged or finding a corpse. Even though it helped usher in our new, terrifying age of active gaming, Nintendo’s next big nostalgia play is bringing games back to their roots: something you do while staring at a TV and pressing…
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! was such a challenging NES game because winning depended almost completely on timing. Get controller fatigue and slow down during a blocking spree? You’re vulnerable to be knocked out cold. Duck the wrong way when Mr. Sandman is shooting uppercuts your way? Sorry, pal, better luck next time.…
Thirty years ago the Nintendo Entertainment System landed on American shores, and ever since that moment, Americans have been trying to beat Super Mario Bros. faster than the last person. Earlier this week, a Virginia gamer who goes by the name of Darbian broke that record, finishing the game with a time of…
Ninja Gaiden should be devoid of drama. It was a simple game about a ninja on a revenge mission and a violent, fun answer to Konami’s Castlevania. Almost 30 years after its release, though, Tecmo’s NES staple still feels strange and grand thanks in large part to the way it depicts Ryu Hayabusa’s journey. The story is…
In the early ’90s, anthropomorphic teenage animals of all sorts were the biggest thing since rock ‘n’ roll, particularly if they were trained in a martial art of some sort. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started it all, the Street Sharks ran for 40 episodes, and Rare’s Battletoads fought evil across several video game…
Because indie game makers need something to do while pursuing their dreams of becoming monorail conductors, developer GumpyFunction created playable versions of three video games featured in classic Simpsons episodes. Kevin Costner’s Waterworld (from “The Springfield Files”), is basically a playable version of the…
A YouTube user who goes by the handle NicksplosionFX has completed a video compilation of the start screens for every Game Boy game ever made—or at least as close as NicksplosionFX could come after some thorough research. Although most of the opening sequences unfold in just a few seconds, it takes almost three hours…
A Major League video game on NES should greet players with a character select screen. Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, and Wesley Snipes sitting next to each other, rendered with giant heads, anime eyes, and goofy smirks. It should have the avatars walking left to right, Sheen throwing fastballs to knock out fierce…
Keyboard Geniuses is our weekly glance at a few intriguing, witty, or otherwise notable posts from the Gameological discussion threads. Comments have been excerpted and edited here for grammar, length, and/or clarity. You can follow the links to see the full threads.
