Topic: "25 Years Of Nintendo" Party

[JonLeung]

Upon realizing that today is the 25th anniversary of my first day of kindergarten, I began looking at other milestones.  I realized the NES turns 25 years old on October 18 of this year as well.

I was thinking I could make a "25 Years Of Nintendo"-themed party on the weekend just prior to that.  After all I still have all my Nintendo consoles and they all still work (though the dual-layer laser on the Wii looks like it's just failed...WTF...but that's another concern).  I was thinking, assuming I can find a third and fourth player controller for all of these (and a NES Four Score and Super NES Multitap before then), maybe I could have a tournament if I could get the right number of people that would like to revisit some of the best multiplayer games on all five consoles.

Does anyone have suggestions for what multiplayer games I should have for such a tournament?  (Avoiding emulation as much as possible, I may have to get hunting before then.  I never actually owned GoldenEye, and for whatever stupid reason I sold many of my Super NES games.)

And, harder question here, any suggestions for how scoring could work (as an alternative to straight-up elimination) or handicaps?

(If interest among my in-real-life friends fails (boo), I suppose I could try to rouse up interest in getting all your Wii Friend Codes again...I've had my Wii online since day one but haven't played online against anyone I know.  >_<)

[Peardian]

I hear Nintendo is going to release a special port of Super Mario All-Stars with a History of Mario book and Soundtrack for the anniversary.


As for multiplayer games... not really sure about earlier systems, but the Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Smash Bros. series come to mind. Also, Tetris Attack and Kirby's Dream Course.

[DarkWolf]

StarFox 64, but only if you have the tank and people unlocked.

[JonLeung]

I should still have my Star Fox 64 cartridge somewhere, with all that stuff unlocked.

I have a feeling it won't get that much interest as a tournament (most of my friends didn't care for the GameCube era at all, and they'll immediately think any tournament would result in me or my brother winning), so maybe I'll just make it a more casual gaming night.

I'm sure I could wiki this but why is Mario's 25th birthday considered this month but the NES's is next month?  Do they not count Donkey Kong (where he's known as Jumpman) or even Mario Bros.?  Does Super Mario Bros. precede the NES?

EDIT: I can't access the Wikipedia article on Super Mario Bros. at work now, but I'm guessing this month is the 25th anniversary of the Japanese release date of Super Mario Bros., and the Famicom predates the NES, obviously.  Boy, I feel stupid.  And I guess that Super Mario Bros. was still a big hit in Japan despite not being a Famicom launch title.  I always thought a big part of Mario's success was being packaged with nearly every NES.  Silly me.

[JonLeung]

Happy 25th Anniversary of the Japanese release of Super Mario Bros.! (The North American anniversary is next month, I'll geek out then.)

[JonLeung]

I'm looking for a NES Four Score as it would make a good extension cord of sorts, but I'm wondering if there are any good four-player NES titles.  Skimming through the short list I found on Wikipedia, it looks like Super Spike V'Ball is the only one I remember playing that was any good.

Similarly, I'm wondering if I should invest in the Super Multitap for the Super NES.  I mean, sure, there's Super Bomberman, but not much else that I really remember...NBA Jam, maybe.  Hey, does anyone know if the Super Multitap 2 (the one shaped like Bomberman's head but only released in Japan) works on Super NESes?

(It really seems like it was a brilliant idea for the N64 and onwards to start off with four-player capability right from the start with no extra hardware - other than the controllers themselves, of course.)

[bustin98]

The greatest multiplayer game on the SNES is Uniracers. But its only 2 player, no multi-tap.

[JonLeung]

The game itinerary is still a work in progress.  There will probably be 84 minutes per console (the party will be seven hours long), with three games for each console.  I may have a secret game for each.  Currently, the games that are practically locked-in that I don't mind revealing are:

NES - Super Spike V'Ball - there are not many four-player NES games that we like, so this is a shoo-in just because of that.

Super NES - Super Bomberman - there are not many four-player Super NES games that we like, so this is also a shoo-in.  While I really like Super Bomberman 3 (J), it's probably best to stick to North American games.

N64 - GoldenEye 007 - since I never actually owned the game, I hope I can find a copy with everything unlocked on it (assuming it saves to the cartridge and not the Memory Pak), or at least anything that affects multiplayer.  At least I have a GameShark if need be.

GameCube - The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures - I haven't touched the game since finishing it, so I want to take the opportunity to actually play the versus game with a full four players.  Naturally I must procure another two GBAs and another link cable (I think I have three somehow despite having two GBAs...)

Wii - Super Smash Bros. Brawl - gotta have a Nintendo-centric finale, right?

I'm still open to suggestions for the other one or two games per console but as my friends could easily find this topic, I will probably not be confirming what suggestions I decide to go with.

[JonLeung]

(I'm confused...the top of this page says the SNES PowerPaks are available, but the "Buy!" button is replaced with a "TEMPORARILY UNAVAILBLE" sign.  So is it or isn't it?)

I ended up buying Super Bomberman on eBay, but I still have to secure GoldenEye 007.  However, my N64 seems to resetting randomly...I hope I can fix or replace the AC adapter or the N64 itself if that's the problem.  Hopefully my friends have one I can borrow for that evening, but I'd still like a perfectly working one for myself, so I'd better find ways of convincing them to give/sell one to me.  This could get expensive.  At least once I get everything, it'd be easier to throw more retro-Nintendo parties in the future (with or without an occasion) so it'll be worth it.

I think I really do need suggestions for competitive NES and Super NES games.  It's unlikely that I'll find three four-player games I like, so I'll settle for some two-player games.  But I can't think of many that wouldn't potentially bore the spectators somewhat.  I'm still not sure about puzzle games like Tetris Attack.  Though I suppose there are a slew of fighting games on the Super NES...maybe Mortal Kombat II or UMK3?  (Maybe I should just stick with NBA Jam: T.E. on the Super NES and forget about NBA Hang Time on the N64.)  Oh, duh, how could I forget the original Super Mario Kart?  >_<  If that's too cliché I could try F-Zero or Rock 'N Roll Racing...

Any more suggestions?  Especially for the NES?  (Also consider that each game can only be played for 28 minutes.)

[bustin98]

Excitebike for the NES. Killer Instinct on SNES. Wetrix on the N64 is an awesome multiplayer once you wrap your head around the idea. I've also sunk many hours into Forsaken on the N64. The controls can be difficult (seriously, up down left right forward backward at the touch of a button... ahhhh!!), but the joy of sneaking up on someone in the maze of corridors and launching a nuke is bliss.

[JonLeung]

I still can't think of many competitive NES games, but I suppose if no one minds swapping turns on a co-op game, TMNT II: The Arcade Game and River City Ransom would be good candidates.  Maybe Anticipation would be fun too, eight people could pair up as four teams.

Excitebike might be fun.  I dunno if people will want to play it for 28 minutes, but maybe I shouldn't be a stickler for that whole timing and scheduling thing.

Maybe I'm trying WAY too hard to maximize fun.  There may be too many potential invitees or not enough time to play each game, especially if I give each console equal playtime.  If there aren't many NES or Super NES games that strike a chord with anyone, we could always play more GoldenEye 007...and that's not a bad thing.  As the party is supposed to celebrate the NES, though, I still hope to remember or find some good choices before then.

[JonLeung]

Bwahaha, I got 007 mode in GoldenEye 007 today!

[JonLeung]

Go go go!

It's easy to name good SINGLE-PLAYER games, but for the life of me I can't think up of many good MULTIPLAYER games.  Maybe I just turned forgetful.

Yes, this has to do with the party I'm planning.  I'll merge the topics later.  Just tell me your faves!

[Peardian]

SMB3's multiplayer, based on the arcade MB, was pretty fun.


As for SNES, if you count co-op, Kirby Super Star and Dream Land 3 are great. If you don't count co-op, Super Star still has the minigames like Megaton Punch for some player-vs-player fun. And need I mention Super Mario Kart?

[JonLeung]

I think I've decided on the games:











What do you think?