NES
Hardware, storefront and ecosystem news for NES.
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Mottomo Abunai Deka
Mottomo Abunai Deka, a run-and-gun action game developed by Micronics and based on a Japanese crime drama, was released for the NES in 1990. Despite its straightforward gameplay and brief cutscenes, the game suffers from repetitive enemies, poor controls, and technical issues like slowdown and sprite flickering, making it a boring and uninspired experience.
Mottomo Abunai Deka
Mottomo Abunai Deka, a run-and-gun action game developed by Micronics and based on a Japanese crime drama, was released for the NES in 1990. Despite its straightforward gameplay and brief cutscenes, the game suffers from repetitive enemies, poor controls, and technical issues like slowdown and sprite flickering, making it a boring and uninspired experience.
Yoshi (1991) added to Nintendo Music
Nintendo has added 40 minutes of music from the 1991 Game Freak puzzle game Yoshi to its Nintendo Music app. The service, available to Nintendo Switch Online members, now includes soundtracks from the Game Boy and NES versions of Yoshi. The Nintendo Music app is available on iOS and Android devices.
Beasts of the Sea, Soaring Through The Skies! Toaplan Arcade Garage: Flying Fire Shark Blasts Onto PlayStation®4 and Nintendo® Switch™ This August
Clear River Games announced that Toaplan Arcade Garage: Flying Fire Shark, a collection of six classic Toaplan shoot 'em up titles, will be released on August 29, 2026, for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The collection includes arcade versions of Flying Shark, Fire Shark, Sky Shark, Hisho Same, and Same! Same! Same!, along with bonus DLC featuring the game Wardner and its variants. A free download of the puzzle game Teki-Paki will also be included with purchases of any Toaplan Arcade Garage game.
Toaplan Arcade Garage Flying Fire Shark Collection Launches August 29
Clear River Games announced the retro shmup collection Toaplan Arcade Garage: Flying Fire Shark for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, launching August 29, 2026. The collection features six arcade titles, including Flying Shark and Fire Shark, with added modes like Super Easy and Challenge Mode, plus M2 Gadgets support. Digital purchasers receive bonus DLC, and owners of other Toaplan Arcade Garage titles get the puzzle game Teki-Paki for free.
Flying Fire Shark: Toaplan Arcade Garage coming to Nintendo Switch
Clear River Games and M2 will release Flying Fire Shark: Toaplan Arcade Garage on Nintendo Switch on August 29, 2026. This collection features classic titles from the Toaplan studio's Shark series, including Flying Shark and Fire Shark, with new features and modes like Super Easy Mode and Arcade Challenge. The physical edition will also include additional games and ports from various platforms.
Grayson Wendell Fire & Ice RGX 2026 Guest of Honor
Professional programmer Grayson Wendell, a veteran of the game industry since 2007, will be a Guest of Honor at Fire & Ice RGX 2026. Wendell has worked at companies like id Software, EA, and Activision on titles such as Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. He will also host a panel on N64 reverse engineering and randomizers at the event.
Marvel MaXimum Collection review – Marvellous Curation
The Marvel MaXimum Collection offers a curated selection of Marvel games from the 16-bit era, including titles like Spider-Man and X-Men, alongside some 8-bit entries. While some games show their age, the collection provides a historical look at Marvel's gaming legacy with updated presentation and bonus materials, making it accessible for both returning fans and newcomers.
Echoes of the Unread Is a Cute Metroidvania Made for NES, Now Coming to Steam!
Echoes of the Unread, a retro-style Metroidvania originally developed for NES, is now coming to PC via Steam. Developed by Clever Cat Games and co-published by 8-Bit Legit and Mega Cat Studios, the game features a unique storybook aesthetic and a core mechanic where the protagonist, Rhapsody, uses her voice to alter the world, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies as she navigates different story-themed worlds to return home.
Steam Deck and PCs Get Access to Retro Games on CD and Cartridge With Polymega Remix
Polymega Remix is a new system allowing players to digitize and play original CD- and cartridge-based retro games on PCs and handhelds like the Steam Deck. The system includes a base unit for reading discs and a Windows app for digitization and playback, with optional cartridge adapters sold separately. It aims to preserve physical game collections for modern hardware without relying on ROMs.
Twinbee
This review discusses the NES port of Konami's 1985 arcade shooter, TwinBee, noting its status as an early example of the 'cute 'em up' genre. While acknowledging the game's innovative bell-based power-up system and its influence on later titles like Pop 'n TwinBee, the reviewer finds the original NES version to be only mildly interesting and average compared to its contemporaries.
Lost Nintendo game lives after 50 years as arcade collector uses ancient film reels and Wii-style tech to create "what might be the only playable Wild Gunman" machine in the world
An arcade collector named Callan Brown has recreated Nintendo's lost 1974 arcade game, Wild Gunman, using digitized film reels and modern technology. The recreation utilizes Unity for the game logic, infrared LEDs for gun detection similar to the Wii remote, and an Arduino for score tracking. Brown plans to showcase the machine and potentially release the code and game assets in the future.
Space Harrier (NES)
This review discusses the NES port of the arcade rail shooter Space Harrier, developed by AM2 and published by Takara. Despite significant technological limitations compared to the arcade original, the Famicom version is praised for its smooth scrolling and playable simulation of the game's look, outperforming the Sega Master System port. However, it suffers from slowdown, flicker, reduced speed, and a lack of continues, making it a challenging experience.
Feature: A Look Back At Every Game Nintendo Life Scored 10/10 Over 20 Years
Nintendo Life looks back at the 69 games it has awarded a perfect 10/10 score over its 20-year history. The article details the criteria for a perfect score, emphasizing games that raise genre bars and push industry boundaries, and lists titles from Mega Man 2 to New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Marble Madness (Genesis)
This review criticizes the Sega Genesis port of Marble Madness, citing poor controls and middling presentation compared to the arcade original and NES version. Despite the gameplay mechanics being intact, the washed-out colors, disastrous music, and imprecise controls significantly detract from the experience, making it a disappointing conversion.
Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and other celebs name their favourite video games
Several Hollywood celebrities, including Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Chris Pratt, have shared their favorite video games in a compilation video. While some named classic titles like Super Mario Bros. and Pitfall!, others highlighted more recent or niche games such as Returnal and Civilization 6.
The Last Starfighter
The Last Starfighter for NES, developed by Graftgold and published by Mindscape, is a poorly executed shooter that loosely ties into the 1984 film. It is essentially a rebranded version of the 1986 Commodore 64 game Uridium, featuring frustrating gameplay mechanics, repetitive level design, and an overbearing difficulty that makes it an unenjoyable experience.
Breakthru
This review discusses Breakthru, an action game developed and published by Data East, originally released in arcades in 1986 and later ported to the NES. While acknowledging its competent mechanics and unique premise of retrieving a stolen fighter plane, the reviewer expresses a personal dislike for the game due to its frustrating design, short length, and awkward button mapping, ultimately deeming it a mediocre experience.
Review: Marvel Maximum Collection (Switch) - A Decent Nostalgia Cake With A Konami Cherry On Top
The Marvel Maximum Collection on Nintendo Switch offers a compilation of retro Marvel titles, with Konami's X-Men: The Arcade Game being the standout inclusion due to its multiplayer and faithful port. While other games like Silver Surfer and Captain America and The Avengers have their merits, the collection's overall quality ranges from good fun to frustrating, driven primarily by nostalgia rather than an assembly of gaming's finest.
Annalog Achieves First Stretch Goal on Kickstarter
The Kickstarter campaign for Annalog, a new Metroidvania adventure for the NES developed by mdsteele and published by The Retro Room Games, has successfully reached its funding goal. The game is complete and features a free-form programming system, multiple endings, and is designed to run on original NES hardware. Funds raised will go towards physical production of the game, including cartridges and manuals.