Let's Play 52: IGN's Best NES Games Ever: 90-81 Quiz

Answer: Section Z

"Captain Commando" made his debut in the video gaming industry in the game "Section Z", released in 1988. Capcom released the game as an arcade title, an NES title, and as a Famicom Disk System title. The game has three main sections, and each section has twenty sub-levels associated with the game. "Section Z" is a shooter, though it is rather unique as once you beat a stage, you choose between two teleporters, which will take you to different levels of the game.

This provided a "choose your own adventure" feel to the game unusual for the shooter genre in the 1980s.

Answer: The Magic Cane

The Magic Cane is a rather ineffective weapon obtained early in the game. The fairy Cherlindrea gives Willow the cane at Lake Cheef. Once Willow reaches level 12, he will want to return to Fin Raziel and transform her. She will then strengthen the Magic Cane. Willow will fight Bavmorda twice; she is only vulnerable to the Magic Cane during the first battle.

The Devil Sword is an item which cannot be used as a weapon against living things, but is the only available weapon that can effectively harm undead and zombie creatures.

The Fireflor is a spell that the father of the chieftain of the village Dew will teach Willow once Willo cure him of his madness.

The Crest of the Spirits is a necessary item that allows Willow to finally confront Bavmorda.

Answer: Zombie Nation

"1999 - What appeared to be a harmless meteorite crashing into the Nevada
desert turned out to be Darc Seed, and evil alien creature with horrible
powers. By shooting strange magnetic rays, Darc Seed had turned the helpless
nation into zombies and had brought the Stature of Liberty to life to do his
dirty work. These rays has also given him control over many deadly weapons,
but none more powerful than the legendary samurai sword, Shura. When the
great head of the samurai, Namakubi, heard the sword had fallen into evil
hands. He set off immediately for the United States. For only he possessed the
strength and knowledge to recapture the magical sword and free the US from the
evil clutches of Darc Seed."

"Moon Crystal", similar to "Ninja Gaiden", is a criminally obscure Famicom title that should have been as big as many of the other games but was never released outside of Japan.

Answer: Shooter

IGN has this to say about "The Guardian Legend": "Featuring a half-and-half game design that blends two distinct types of gameplay into one excellent whole, The Guardian Legend is one of the most influential games in the history of the gaming industry."

"The Guardian Legend" was released in 1989, and featured two main gameplay modes: shooter and action adventure. Both are fully realised, and the game has became highly acclaimed in the decades since its released. Initially the game received only mixed reviews when it came out in 1989.

Answer: Hudson

"Mickey Mousecapade" is certainly one of the more obscure titles in the Capcom library. The game has some rather ugly graphics (even for an NES title), but the game certainly has its own style of charm.

Hudson Soft in Japan actually developed the game. It the only Capcom published Disney game not actually developed by Capcom. Several sprites from the game are directly lifted from other Hudson Soft games.

The plot of the game is to rescue a friend of Mickey and Minni, who turns out to be Alice of "Alice in Wonderland". The final boss is Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty" in the US versiona nd the Queen of Hears from "Alice in Wonderland" in the Japanese version. Pete, who is often the final boss in Disney games, is the fourth boss in the American version.

Strangely enough, there is a Hidden Mickey embedded in the circuit board, clearly visible when the game cartridge is disassembled.

There are numerous regional differences between the Japanese and North American versions. The stage bosses are all different between the two versions, and so is much of the enemy roster. The Japanese version is more heavily based on "Alice in Wonderland".

Answer: Lode Runner

"Lode Runner" as originally an 1983 PC game published by Broderbund. The game was one of the first ever to include a level editor. "Lode Runner" is a puzzle game where you must avoid enemies and gain gold. Alexey Pajitnov, the designer of the world famous "Tetris", long cited "Lode Runner" to be his favorite puzzle game.

Answer: Issue Forty Seven

Over all, "Mega Man V" is a pretty solid NES title. All the NES "Mega Man" games are. My main beef with the game is the poor weapon set and also the four bosses of Protoman's castle (the Dark Robots) are all entirely too similar and rather uninspired. Of the last three NES titles, I think both "Mega Man IV" and the criminally underrated "Mega Man VI" are superior titles. Strangely enough, IGN ranked "Mega Man V" several spots higher than "Mega Man IV".

"Mega Man V" introduces Protoman as the primary villain. Like "Mega Man IV", it turns out Protoman is not the real nemesis; Dr Wily is behind all these nefarious deeds. Dr. Wily clones Protoman.

"Mega Man V" made its debut in the Top 5 in Issue Forty Seven of Nintendo Power at the fourth spot on the list That month, "Tecmo Super Bowl", "Super Mario Bros. 3", and "The Legend of Zelda" were 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The highest "Mega Man V" ever got on the charts was number three, back to back in issues 50 and 51. "Mega Man V" appeared a total of eight times within the Top 5.

Answer: Four more

The NES version of "Double Dragon II" is very different from the Arcade title, featuring cut scenes similar to the famous scenes from "Ninja Gaiden", and a changed ending. The levels are drastically redesigned and the NES version features a few enemies not present in the arcade title. "Double Dragon II" also features co-op gameplay, something the original NES "Double Dragon" lacked.

The plot revolves around Marian, the heroine from the original game, being shot and killed, which sends Billy and Jimmy off on a beat-em-up campaign. The original arcade ending is rather bittersweet, whereas the NES version Mario is raised back to life.

There are also nine levels total, where the arcade version only has four levels. However, the last level, with its final boss the Mysterious Warrior, is only available on the hardest difficulty setting.

Answer: Power Mission

"Nintendo Power" held a large sway over the gaming public back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Without the advent of the Internet, information as rather limited, and "Power Blade" had the added benefit of being the feature article the April 1991 issue (Issue 23) of "Nintendo Power".

Natsume, the company behind "Harvest Moon" and responsible for its numerous incarnations, developed and published "Power Blade". The North American release was originally titled "Power Mission" but after radically reworking the game they went with "Power Blade". It's a real power house of a game and very fun to play for those old 8-bit NES game players.

"Power Blade", a reworked localisation of the Japan game "Power Blazer", is somewhat similar to the original "Mega Man" in that you can play the initial six levels in any order you want. The plot is that an alien race has taken the Master Computer down. You must guide the main protagonist (who looks suspiciously like Arnold Schwarzenegger) though six different areas of the Master Computer so he can defeat the security guards (bosses) and restore the data backup tapes to get the Master Computer back up and running.

The American localization has numerous differences, including a drastic redesign of the levels and changing the main character from a robot to a human.

Answer: Terminator

Sunsoft originally developed "Journey to Silius" as a Terminator game, but due to Sunsoft losing the rights, they had to strip the already largely completed game of all Terminator copyright references. If you play the game, you can definitely see Terminator influences and seeming allusions all over the game.

The game is a run and gun game, similar to "Mega Man" and "Contra".