Jeremy Parish

NES Works 111: Kung Fu Heroes & Bandai Golf (Patreon)

Published:

2023-10-05 11:52:07

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

bandai culture brain golf kung fu heroes nes nes works

Content

OK, I didn't quite manage to get this one up yesterday, thanks in part to Amazon's "Same-Day Delivery" for the cables I was missing to capture live footage with meaning "first thing next day." Good thing they keep raising the price of Prime. I'd hate to think I was underpaying for one of the most unreliable premium services around.

Anyway—back to NES for a run of episodes taking us up to tax day ’89. This one, I fear, is mostly just taxing. Kung Fu Heroes is one of those games I've always eyed with wariness, a suspicion that turns out to be wholly justified. I do admire the audacity of just straight-up swiping Super Mario Bros. sound effects, but that's about all I like here.

Bandai Golf, on the other hand, appeals to my Stockholm Syndrome for golf games. Now that I've been conditioned to love this genre, I can see the appeal of this one. And not just because it's the only PGA course I've ever actually set foot on! (My wife and I drove through the area so that she could photograph a sunset over the ocean cliffs for a school assignment back when we first started dating.)

Anyway, not only will next week's episode be back on the usual schedule (I've already uploaded it), you'll need to devote most of your morning to it. It's a big'un.

Files

Brawl ’n ball: Kung Fu Heroes & Bandai Golf | NES Works 111

Developer/publisher Culture Brain makes its debut on NES by riding into town on the same "conversions of pre-NES arcade games" that we saw last episode, though with considerably less success than Konami and Ultra. We can probably mark that down to the inadequacy of the source material, because Culture Brain did make a genuine effort here to tart up their port of Chinese Hero for the console, even swiping material directly from Super Mario Bros. They just forgot to swipe Mario's brilliant design and ebullient sense of fun. Oh well. Faring better, Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach looks pretty mundane but offers a solid take on golf with an interesting wind-based mechanic on a digital rendition of a world-famous PGA course. Which counts for a lot! Assuming you like golf games. 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, and Metroidvania: The First Decade is due in 2024. NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister.