NES Planet

Dr. Mario is an arcade-style puzzle video game produced by Nintendo. It was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy in 1990. Its play mechanics is compared to Tetris. In this game, Dr. Mario throws vitamins that the player must align in order to destroy the viruses that populate the playing field (designed to resemble a medicine bottle).

A puzzle game similar to Tetris, Dr. Mario features Nintendo mascot Mario as a doctor. Gameplay consists of dropping two-sided vitamin capsules into an eight-block-by-16-block playing field populated by viruses of three colors (red, yellow and blue).

There are six types of capsules, differentiated by color: red-red, yellow-yellow, blue-blue, red-blue, red-yellow and blue-yellow. The player must rotate and position these capsules on top of and alongside the viruses and other capsules in an effort to eliminate the viruses. Both viruses and capsules are eliminated when four or more objects of corresponding color are placed in a row or column. A player completes a level by eliminating all viruses on the playing field. The game will end if any capsules obstruct the bottle’s narrow neck at the top row of the field. The player can start at any one of 21 distinct levels (0-20), with levels up to 40 accessible by those who can clear level 20. Levels are differentiated by virus counts, ranging from four at level 0 to 84 at levels 40 and higher. Above level 40, each level starts with 84 viruses, thus levels do not increase in difficulty past level 40. Much like Nintendo’s version of Tetris, the player may choose a level of difficulty to start, along with the game’s speed and a selection of background music. Three levels of speed can be chosen: low, medium and high. Choosing the low option will make the game’s background dark green, choosing the medium option will make the game’s background blue and choosing the high option will make the game’s background gray. Two kinds of music can be chosen: Fever and Chill.

The Game Boy version of the game is nearly identical to its NES counterpart. In keeping with the technical limitations of the device, the game features a playfield measuring eight-blocks by 15-blocks and viruses of black, white, and gray. In addition, levels increase in difficulty after level 20 and may be impossible. The Fever song was updated with a few extra musical notes and a slightly faster tempo.

Two player gameplay in either version consists of two side-by-side playfields that can be level-adjusted according to the strength of each player. The first player to win three games wins the match. The objective is to be the first to clear the viruses or to block the opponent’s field to the top.

An added element is the ability to “rain” down blocks into the opponent’s playfield by clearing two, three, or four separate lines with a single vitamin (intentional branches of vitamin drops which exceed four lines cleared will be disregarded). An alternative method to raining four blocks is to clear four separate lines with two vitamins within the time between your opponents’ current vitamin and his next vitamin (two quick double-line clearances, in other words).

The colors of pills rained down upon the opponent correlates to the colors of the lines cleared. Again, a clearance of more than four lines in this respect will be disregarded

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Double Dribble (known in Japan as Exciting Basket) is a basketball video game by Konami. The original version was an arcade game released in 1986. In September of 1987 a version followed for Nintendo’s Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy in 1991 (called Double Dribble 5-on-5). A version was also released for the Commodore 64 computer. The game is currently available for download onto the Wii.

The NES version features 5-on-5 action on a horizontally scrolling court, four different teams (Boston Frogs, New York Eagles, Chicago Ox, L.A. Breakers), three levels of single-play difficulty, and four different choices of quarter lengths. Double Dribble was among the first games to feature cut scenes, which depicted a mid-air player completing a slam dunk, and one of the first to use speech, though in a limited quantity (such as announcing the game title and the game’s beginning jump ball). The game was also notable for “The Star-Spangled Banner” being played in a cut scene depicting the crowd entering the stadium before the match begins, as well as displaying a half-time cheerleader performance.

A sequel called Double Dribble: The Playoff Edition was released in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive.

Compared to many sports-related Nintendo games of this era, Double Dribble resembled its sport with surprising accuracy. However, there were several quirks in the programming that are noteworthy, if only for their contribution to the overall experience of playing Double Dribble:

Timing Issues: The game clock, as in most early timed videogames (see also: Tecmo Bowl), was accelerated (far faster than real-time).

Translation Issues: In the third-quarter, third is abbreviated as “3rt.”

Gameplay: Several positions on the court were ‘hot spots,’ high-percentage areas where shots-taken were likely to score points. For example: it is easier to hit a 3-pointer on the bottom right-hand side of the screen. A player could start a 3-point jump shot from the top right or left corner of the court inbounds, and continue the jump out of bounds and even slightly behind the hoop and it would go in nearly every time. Another nearly guaranteed shot is taken with the player standing 3-quarters length of the court away from their goal could go for a running 3-point shot, provided that the shot button was pressed within the other team’s free throw shooting circle.

The arcade version was a timed play (much like Star Fire), where after every minute of play, the game was owed a credit if the score was tied or the computer is ahead. However, if the live player was ahead, a “free” minute was earned. Many average players could earn the first free minute, but this became increasingly more difficult to do as making 3-point shots became virtually impossible over the course of gameplay.
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Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone is the third game in Technos Japan’s (presently Million’s) Double Dragon series of beat-em-ups. Originally released in 1990, the original arcade version was not developed in-house by Technos, but farmed out to an external developer, East Technology. Because of this and the fact that the game used a new engine, it has a completely different look and feel from the previous two installments.

An NES version developed by Technos, published by Acclaim as Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones in the west (Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone in Japan), was released in 1991. Acclaim also published the Game Boy and Mega Drive/Genesis ports of the arcade version as Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game.

The NES version of Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone (the title being spelled with a roman numeral, instead of the Arabic numeral used in the arcade version’s logo), unlike the arcade version, was developed in-house by Technos Japan rather than East Technology. Both versions of the game were also developed at the same time and came out months apart. Much like the NES version of Double Dragon II: The Revenge, the English language versions of the game were published by Acclaim, which were retitled Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones.

The game does not feature the shop system either, nor are all the playable characters available from the start. Instead, the game uses a system in which the player is joined by additional characters by defeating them as bosses. The player can change characters during gameplay and will automatically change to the next available character when their current one is defeated. The player starts the game off as Bimmy Lee (with Jimmy Lee, if joined by a second player) and can gain two additional playable characters by defeating them as stage bosses: Chin Seimei (the second stage boss, who was also playable in the arcade version) and Yagyu Ranzou (the third stage boss, who uses a ninja blade as a default weapon). Each of the playable characters also has a reserve weapon in his disposal that have limited uses per stage (nunchucks for Bimmy and Jimmy, an iron claw for Chin and shuriken for Ranzou). The NES version features techniques similar to the arcade version, such as the overhead shoulder throw and the double cyclone spin kick that can only be performed with two players as Bimmy and Jimmy, but adds moves and features from the previous games too such as the hair pull technique and the ability to disarm certain enemy characters and use their weapons. The available weapons are an army knife, a bottle and a sai. Certain enemies will also use knives and hand spears against the player, which are weapons that are exclusive to the enemy and cannot be picked up by the player.

The plot went through considerable changes during the game’s English localization: the final boss’ identity was changed from a resurrected Cleopatra to “Queen Noiram”, a possessed Marion (Bimmy’s girlfriend, also spelled Marian) who’s been kidnapped again and an explanation was given for Hiruko’s death when none was offered in the Japanese version. The English version also shows all of the main characters (including Hiruko) in the ending after completing the game once, instead of only showing the characters the player completes the game with like in the Japanese version. The localization is notable for its typo of Bimmy’s name as “Bimmy” at the opening intro of the 2-Player Mode

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Double Dragon II: The Revenge is the second game in Technos Japan’s Double Dragon series of side-scrolling beat-em-ups, produced for the arcades in 1988.

Technos Japan developed a home version of the game for the Famicom/NES in 1989, which was drastically different from the arcade version. Other home versions were released for the Mega Drive and PC Engine.

Technos Japan’s Famicom/NES version of Double Dragon II, much like the NES version of the first game, was more of an adaptation of the game than a direct port. The English-language version of the game was published by Acclaim Entertainment in North America and Europe.

The NES version is notable for featuring cut-scenes (static images and on-screen text) that serve to narrate the progress of the game’s plot. The revenge premise remains the same, although the plot was altered. Willy does not appear in the game at all. Instead, a rival martial artist referred to only as the “Mysterious Warrior”, serves as the final boss after the doppelgängers are defeated—available only in the game’s hardest difficulty setting (Supreme Master). According to the Japanese version’s instruction manual, he is the master of a martial art style known as “Gensatsuken”, a counterpart of Billy and Jimmy’s “Sōsetsuken” style. The ending is also completely different, in which Marian is restored to life after the Mysterious Warrior is defeated.

In contrast to the first NES game, all of the player’s techniques are available from the start and the two-player cooperative gameplay has been kept this time, with an alternative mode that has the friendly fire option turned on (in contrast, the one-on-one Vs. Mode introduced in the first NES game was not included in this sequel). Two new special techniques are added to the player’s repertoire in addition to the Whirlwind Kick; the Hyper Uppercut and the Flying Knee Kick. The NES version’s stage layout is composed of nine missions. While none of the stages are direct reproductions from the arcade game’s stages, they share many of the same elements, including background music. Many of these stages don’t have actual bosses, but traps which the player must overcome to clear the stage.

Enemy characters from the arcade game include Williams, Roper, Linda, Burnov, Abobo (renamed Bolo in the NES version), Abore (whose design was changed to resemble Oharra), Chin Taimei and the Doppelgängers. Only Oharra, Jeff and Willy are omitted. Two new enemy characters are introduced in addition to the final boss: “Migiude” (the “Right-hand Man”) and the “Ninja”. The Right-hand Man is a standard thug enemy who relies on hand-to-hand and kick techniques. The Ninja is a sub-boss who relies on tricky attacks and speed. The Ropers now carry incendiary bombs and flails they throw like boomerangs as weapons; the latter is a weapon that cannot be carried by the player

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Double Dragon is a 1987 beat-em-up developed by Technos Japan Corporation and distributed in North America and Europe by Taito. The game is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos’ earlier beat-em-up, Renegade (released in Japan as Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, the first game in the Kunio-kun series),[citation needed] but introduced several additions such as two-player cooperative gameplay (hence the title) and the ability to arm oneself with an enemy’s weapon after disarming them. Double Dragon is considered to be one of the first successful examples of the genre, resulting in the creation of two arcade sequels and several spinoffs.

Home versions of the game were released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Game Boy, Genesis/Mega Drive and Atari Lynx, among other platforms during the series’ height of popularity. An enhanced remake titled Double Dragon Advance was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. It was re-released for the Wii’s Virtual Console in North America on April 28, 2008 at a cost of 500 Wii Points.

The kanji characters in the game’s title literally reads Sōsetsuryū, which roughly means “Twin Intercepting Dragons”, a reference to the game’s title as well as a reference to “Sōsetsuken”, the fictional martial art style used by the Lee brothers. However, both the game and series are known as “Double Dragon” even in Japan.

The story of Double Dragon is set in a post-apocalyptic version of New York City, five years after a nuclear war, where gangs and criminal organizations have taken control of the city. The protagonists are Billy and Jimmy Lee, the titular duo and the successors of a fictional martial arts style known as Sōsetsuken (loosely based on Jeet Kune Do). One day, Billy’s girlfriend, Marian, is kidnapped off the street and the Lee brothers receive a message from her captors, the Black Warriors, demanding to know the secrets of Sōsetsuken in exchange for her safety. The Black Warriors are the largest criminal organization in the city, led by machine gun-toting crime boss Willy Mackey. In the NES version of the plot, Willy is apparently only a figurehead, while Jimmy is the true leader, the Shadow Boss.

This is the basic premise of the first game as originally established by Technos Japan, although certain details of the plot change between versions of the game and publishers. The actual game has no in-game plot and the opening merely depicts Marian being knocked unconscious and carried off by the Black Warriors, with Billy and Jimmy emerging from the garage in the background shortly afterwards.

Double Dragon was ported to the Famicom/NES by Technos Japan in 1988. The game was published in North America by Tradewest (who was given the license to produce other home versions of the game as well) and by Nintendo in Europe.

The port took many liberties compared to the original arcade game. The most notable was the omission of 2-Player simultaneous gameplay. Instead, the 2-Player Mode in the main game is done by alternating similar to Super Mario Bros., although both players take control of Billy. The plot was changed slightly, turning Jimmy into the true leader of the Black Warriors, the Shadow Boss (he is seen in the opening intro kidnapping Marian instead of Willy). After the player defeats Willy, Jimmy appears to face the player for the true final battle. This was the first version that portrayed Billy with brown hair (colored red within the game) and his brother Jimmy as blond, the inverse of their arcade counterparts.

Due to the technical limitations of the NES, the game could only generate two enemies on-screen to confront the player and both enemies were the same character. Additionally, weapons could not be carried to another fight if the original owner was killed. In addition, a level-up system was implemented so that players could only perform the most basic techniques at the beginning of the game. All of the more powerful techniques (including jump kicks) could only be earned by gaining experience points (or heart points, as they were called in the game) and increasing in level. The highest level is seven hearts. A Renegade-style sit-on punch was added to the player’s techniques.

The stages were arranged differently, with some stages featuring new areas (most notably the cavern section in Mission 3) that focused more on platform jumping than actual fighting. All of the enemies from the arcade game also appear, with the exception of Bolo and Jeff, the two head swap characters from the arcade game. A new villain named Chin Taimei appears in this version as the second stage boss.

A one-on-one Versus Mode was added in which the player could select between the Lee Brothers or five of the game’s enemies. The Versus Mode features larger sprites for all characters than in the main game (except Abobo, who is drawn the same proportion as in the main game), but only allows for mirror matches. In single player versus matches, the matches are handicapped in favor of the CPU, while two player versus matches feature weapons thrown into the middle of the field while controlling Williams, Roper or Chin

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