Jeremy Parish

NES Works #077: Ice Hockey & MLB (Patreon)

Published:

2021-01-06 14:00:03

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

LJN nes nes works nintendo video

Content

Ah, now this is more like it: An auspicious start to 2021. I hope.

This week's episode doubles down on sports content, with a game my brother owned as a kid (MLB) and a game I wish he had owned (Ice Hockey). The former is pretty middling. The latter, though, really feels like the ultimate send-off to the early NES house style. Even when Ice Hockey was brand new, and I had just gotten my own NES so I could borrow a friend's copy, I remember thinking how old and dated it looked compared to the newer releases. I also remember not caring at all once we started playing, because it's that much fun—even for someone who doesn't normally enjoy anything to do with sports (i.e., me). And I enjoyed "ah ha!" moments I experienced about the game's legacy while putting this episode together.

In short, Ice Hockey is one of those games that keeps on delivering.

Files

Ice Hockey & MLB retrospective: Sports memorabilia | NES Works #077

A pair of old-school sports games this week—one whose quality and playability transcends its visuals, and ones whose quality and playability... do not. Nintendo's Ice Hockey, developed in collaboration with NES Volleyball creators Pax Softnica, distills the essence of the sport into a take whose simplistic style makes possible some truly accessible, fast-paced gameplay that transcends its genre. It's a remarkable game in many respects! Major League Baseball is a mediocre Famista clone whose sales pitch consists entirely of, "We have real team names." Your mileage will vary, greatly. 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! And be sure to check out the Retronauts podcast (http://www.retronauts.com), where I (and many others!) tackle a much wider array of classic gaming topics each week.