Let's Play 57: IGN's Best NES Games Ever: 40-31 Quiz

Answer: Double Dragon

The sequel was "Battletoads & Double Dragon", released in 1993 and developed by Rare.

The game was developed as a competitor to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", which was massively popular during this era. The game is famously difficult, especially for the third level which featured a speed bike and literally requires split-second precision to make to past the level. A variation of this level occurs later on as well. There is also on Level 6 series of snakes that move and contort and you must use the snakes as platforms. This level is also extremely difficult.

There are also several minor glitches, including one on Level 11 during a second player game that causes the second player to be unable to move. If this happens, the second player must kill all his lives so the first player can continue. This makes it more difficult for the first player as now he lost the accumulated lives and also is down one continue, as this title only allows you to have three continues. Due to its difficulty, most of the game will be unplayed by the majority owners of the title.

Answer: Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden

I've never actually played any of the "Dragon Warrior" games or the "Final Fantasy Titles", even the perennial "Final Fantasy VII". The series known as "Dragon Quest" in Japan, but the early NES titles were named "Dragon Warrior" instead for whatever strange reason, probably marketing. After the release of the rechristened "Dragon Warrior IV" in 1992, players outside of Japan would have to wait nine more years to get their "Dragon Quest" fix in "Dragon Quest VII", which was a Playstation title. "Dragon Quest V" and "Dragon Quest VI" were released on the Super Famicom.

"Dragon Warrior IV" features four chapters in which you play the game with a different character depending on the chapter. It is set up in a way similar to "Doki Doki Panic" where you have different chapters for different characters. The fifth chapter goes back to the hero.

In the DS and Playstation rerelease and Enix added a new chapter.

Answer: Salamander

"Life Force" is a spin off of Gradius, and was actually released as under the title "Salamander" in Japan. Originally "Salamander" was an arcade title in Europe and Japan, and had an official sequel released in 1996 entitled "Salamander 2". When the released the game in North America they rebranded the game as "Life Force".

It is a two player game, where the first player controls the famous "Vic Viper" and the second player controls the spaceship "Lord British". There are numerous level and boss differences between the arcade title and the Famicom port.

The NES version is largely identical (for once) with the Famicom version, with the only differences being the title, the power ups limited to two instead of three, and the Famicom version had multiple endings.

Answer: Top Gunner

A game I played a lot growing up, though never owned, this title is great as a cooperative experience. Originally titled "Top Gunner" in the arcade, in Jackal you control an army jeep and you must go through and rescue POWs while facing several bosses and enemies.

There are various regional differences between the Japanese Famicom version and the NES, including wider levels, a new boss, and a game map that shows you your progress each time you beat one of the levels. The Famicom Disk System title was released as "Final Command: Akai Yōsai".

Answer: Faxanadu

"Faxanadu" is a side-story to "Xanadu", the second title in the RPG series "Dragon Slayer". Hudson Soft developed and published the game in Japan. Nintendo then released the game as a first party title in 1989, and also released the title in the Pal region as well. The game plays very similar to "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link", which is one of my personal favorite titles.

Answer: 747

"StarTropics" is largely a very refined and updated version of the original "Zelda" title, only with a tropical theme. Unlike most titles that are exclusive to only Japan, "StarTropics" was never released in Japan and was only available in America and the Pal region. It also appeared on the cover and lead story on "Nintendo Power".

While progressing through the game, you will get a message from Dr. Jones that will tell you to dip the letter you received with the game into water to reveal the code, which is 747. You input that code into that section of the game in order to discover where Dr. Jones is at. Obviously, the big problem with this is a lot of copies of "StarTropics" were used, and nowadays people will not have access to this physical letter.

"Nintendo Power" actually printed the code in a Counselor's Corner due to the large amount of mail they had gotten regarding the game. When Nintendo released the title on the Virtual Console in 2008, they programmed a scene in the game that shows Mike dipping the letter into water and thus giving the code, which is the only known change to any Nintendo title that has been released on the Virtual Console from 2006 to 2009.

Answer: Gradius

"Gradius" is a classic spaceshooter which features numerous power ups and debuted on in 1985 on the arcade. The NES version came out in 1986. The "Gradius" series is still active with several new titles released since 2000.

This is the "Konami Code: "↑, ↑, ↓, ↓, ←, →, ←, →, B, A". Developed by Kazuhisa Hashimoto, the code was first implemented in the shooter "Gradius", as Hasimoto found the title difficult on the first playthrough. The code is most famously associated with the original "Contra", which gives the player 30 lives.

Answer: Batman: The Video Game

In 1989, Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton had great box office success with "Batman", so much so that Jack told his friend Danny Devito to get involved in the sequel, which he did as The Penguin in "Batman Returns". The video game adaptation only follows the movie very loosely, and combines the weapon selection of "Mega Man" with the wall jumping of "Ninja Gaiden", creating an in-depth game experience. Although short at only five levels, this title has that classic NES difficulty, especially the last battle with the Joker.

A prototype version has bean leaked, which features a different end boss fight with Firebug and different cut scenes. The Joker only appears in cut scenes in which Batman ultimately defeats him. The cut scenes were modeled on "Batman: The Killing Joke".

Answer: Big Joe Turner

"Snake Rattle 'n' Roll" is an isometric platformer developed by Rare. Although platformers were a dime a dozen on the NES, none of them combined the isometric game play as successfully as "Snake Rattle 'n' Roll" did.

Jesse Stone wrote "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in 1954 under his songwriting name Charles E. Calhoun. Big Joe Turner then recorded the song, which was ranked #126 on the Rolling Stones "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". After Big Joe Turner recorded his version, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded the song which was a big hit. Elvis Presley also did two version: a demo from 1955 which was unreleased until the 1990s, and a a single in 1956.

Answer: Aladdin Deck Enhancer

Codemasters developed the Aladdin Deck Enchancer, and all of their (unlicensed) NES titles could be played. Only seven games were released with for this accessory. The Aladdin Deck Enhancer bypassed Nintendo's famous lockout chip that prevented unlicensed games from being used on the NES.

The idea of the Aladdin Deck Enhancer was to make cartridges cheaper to produce, as titles in use with the enhancer did not need the 10NES lock-out chip, RAM, or extra hardware and circuit boards. This accessory came out in 1992 toward the end of the NES's lifecycle, which meant it never really caught on like it could have had it been released several years prior.