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NES Works Recap #2: The Worst NES Games of 1985-87 (Patreon)

Published:
2025-04-09 11:48:45
Imported:
2026-06
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So here's the thing: The early NES library has a lot more good than bad in it. Where I struggled pretty hard to whittle down the best-of list a few weeks back to a mere 10 (-ish) titles, the lower (errr, upper?) ranks of this list drift very nearly into "ehhh it's OK, I guess" territory. I also tried to avoid bagging too hard on any one studio (coughmicronicscough) and give credit where it's due to even the folks responsible for games I hate. It's a kinder, gentler sort of worst-of list. I'm single-handedly keeping civil society alive in these terrible times.

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The Worst of NES 1985-87: NES Works Recap No. 2

We live in a time of polarization and extremes. And I'm not helping matters much by grouping NES games into "best" and "worst," but here we are anyway. That said, this exploration of the most unpleasant and least satisfying games of the NES's early days is not just me bagging on bad games. Without droning on TOO long, I've attempted not only to outline the specifics of these games' failings but also how they might have been redeemed. Truth be told, Nintendo of America did a pretty good job of screening U.S. releases through their third-party licensing system, and most of these games fall short of the NES's best simply because the available NES tech (memory mappers and ROM sizes) didn't allow the programmers or designers to realize their ambitions. On the other hand, some ARE just kinda bad, and there's no redeeming that. But let us at least try to recognize the... well, I wouldn't say good, but at least the not-entirely-horrible here.. Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books)! SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I is available NOW. NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X and 720p with xRGB Mini Framemeister.

Comments

Laurent Giroud

Being a game developer myself I tend to get kinder toward Micronics because, as I understand it, they were a one person studio who probably invested a lot of effort in those games. Them being a lone dev studio did not set them up in a good negotiating position when dealing with big studios so it seems likely they were semi forced into possibly unrealistic schedules and budgets which were not conducive to the production of good games. However, looking at their production from a purely technical standpoint (which many hackers have done over the years) it is clear that they were not particularly technically competent: they demonstrate clearly flawed understanding of the NES chips peculiarities. It's clear that they read the technical documents but their implementation was botched and deeply flawed in ways that guaranteed sub par performance (such as 1942 use of alternate frames to update sprites, but there are worst examples in their subsequent games). I marvel at the fact that they managed to get those contracts and executed them alone but I cry at the shoddy result that they dumped onto the market and which is now part of history. I want to think that they did their best, and that alas, they did not set themselves up for success so their best - under those self defeating circumstances - wasn't so great in the end. However, if we talked about Tiertex, it would be a different story. Their output was the result of calculated decisions and as such they deserve no mercy. (Same goes for US Gold.)