Category: Fun & Games

Revisiting NES Classics Using Nintendo Switch Online Rewind Feature

Ghosts ‘n Goblins is the most difficult NES game I own. Battletoads is certainly challenging in spots like the Turbo Tunnel, but it doesn’t seem as punishing as Ghosts ‘n Goblins. As a kid, I spent hours (and hours) trying to make my way through this game. It requires repeated grinding through every inch of every stage to learn where to move in order to defeat enemies coming from every direction. Simply finishing the initial graveyard stage feels like a great accomplishment.

Ghosts 'n Goblins - Box Art — Ghosts ‘n Goblins – Box Art

The level design has enemies in the worst possible spots. The game mechanics make the Knight very hard to maneuver while the enemies are able to move freely and at high speed. The game also suffers from slowdown if too much is happening on screen at the same time (which seems to happen most of the time). According to the box art, this represented “state-of-the-art” and “high resolution graphics”. One hit causes the Knight to lose his armor and proceed only in his skin and red underwear. A second hit makes you a pile of bones.

Ghosts 'n Goblins - Pile of Bones — Ghosts ‘n Goblins – Pile of Bones

Any enjoyment from this intense challenge eventually turned into complete frustration. After spending hard-earned dollars to buy the game, it was disappointing to admit defeat and put the game cartridge away to collect dust.

Many years later, I signed up for the Nintendo Switch Online primarily to play Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda without having to dig out my old NES and some crusty controllers. As I looked through the catalogue of classic NES games, Ghosts ‘n Goblins caught my attention. Maybe it wasn’t as difficult as I remembered. Maybe my skills improved during those intervening years.

No, it is still impossible. At this point, I couldn’t even make it through the first stage. I was about to put the game back on the digital shelf to collect virtual dust.

Instead, I found that all of the classic games in the Nintendo Switch Online library have a “rewind” feature. If the Knight is hit and down to his red underwear, I can rewind the game to any point up to a minute or so earlier. Is it cheating? Perhaps – but it certainly makes the game more enjoyable. I still have to make all of the jumps and get through the enemy hordes, but the ability to rewind removes most of the frustration. I don’t have the hours (and hours) to dedicate to this game as I had as a kid so this feature allows me to continue making progress without starting over after each mistimed jump or the flying attacks from the Red Devil.

With the rewind feature, I was able to make it to the end of the game after so many years…only to discover that you have to play through the whole thing a second time to get to the real ending!

Ghosts 'n Goblins - Nintendo Switch Rewind — Ghosts ‘n Goblins – Nintendo Switch Rewind

LEGO® Harry Potter™ Advent Calendar 2020 (Set 75981)

A day-by-day gallery of the LEGO® Harry Potter™ Advent Calendar 2020 (Set 75981). We had so much fun building the 2019 Harry Potter advent calendar last year that it started a new hobby for me. We had not built many LEGO sets prior to last year, but our enjoyment of all things Harry Potter combined with an eventful 2020, led to a sharp increase in LEGO Harry Potter purchases. It also gives me an excuse to dust off my macro lens.

LEGO® Harry Potter™ Advent Calendar 2020 (Set 75981) - Hogwarts Castle — Day 1 – Harry Potter

Dialogue from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Playing through Breath of the Wild reminds me of how entertaining Link’s interactions are with various characters throughout the franchise — not that Link says much (or anything at all).

The Legend of Zelda franchise has always been a favorite of mine. The original game with it’s gold cartridge eluded me until it was released as a retro game on the Wii’s Virtual Console. I played a rental copy from the local video store back in the dark ages, but I was never able to get a copy of my own and the two day rental was not enough to complete it. Thankfully, Santa brought me the gold cartridge of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in 1988 and I was hooked. Since then, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time have become two of my favorite games of all time. While I love the stories, the puzzles, the dungeons, and the timeline that sort of makes sense if you don’t think too hard – it’s the dialogue between Link and the non-playable characters or the surrounding environment that really sets it apart from other games. I think the dialogue in earlier games was unintentionally humorous because of poor translations (“I am Error“) or poor writing, but the later games must know they’re funny.

Through the Nintendo Switch Online service, I’ve been able to revisit some of the classic games in The Legend of Zelda franchise (and get screenshots). Playing through the older games brings back some long repressed memories like how often you’re asked “Do you understand?” in A Link to the Past or how rude most of the townspeople are in The Adventure of Link.

Breath of the Wild has continued the tradition with clever writing in an overall amazing game. It’s a huge world! There are many opportunities to interact with characters and things in the environment. I wish I captured more of the dialogue as I played through the game, but I’ve included a few gems below along with some of the classics.