Jeremy Parish

NES Works #050: Lode Runner & Raid on Bungeling Bay (Patreon)

Published:

2019-06-26 20:00:00

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

nes works

Content

You know, I enjoyed producing the Virtual Boy Works series, but this episode was a relief and a genuine pleasure to work on. With its weird tech and short life, Virtual Boy amounted to a little archipelago of video game history, with only thin and tenuous links to the larger medium. And then on NES, you have these games, so rich in history and context. What a difference.

Files

Lode Runner & Raid on Bungeling Bay retrospective: Brød wars | NES Works #050

American publisher makes its NES (and console) debut with conversions of two of its own landmark computer titles: Doug Smith's Lode Runner and Will Wright's Raid on Bungeling Bay. Neither men had any direct involvement with these conversions, which instead were handled by Japanese developer Hudson. The result is a pair of visually overhauled (but generally quite faithful) ports that go a long way toward embodying the overall tone and style that would define NES games. At the same time, these ports speak to America and Japan's shared love of great games while highlighting the stylistic differences between east and west in the 8-bit era. A solid duo of classics... though perhaps a bit slow to reach the U.S. to have true impact here.