Here it is! The undisputed king of the 8-bit world and the game system that put life back into the once dead video game industry: the one and only Nintendo Entertainment System! This system alone has nearly a decade worth of history and to many it's still one of the greatest game systems of all time. Nintendo created their own video game system in 1983 called the Famicom (they were well known for their arcade hit Donkey Kong at that time), but this new system was only available in Japan..... so far. The Nintendo President wanted to release the system to North America after its success in Asia, but after the Great Video Game Market Crash in 1984, nobody wanted to sell anything video games related here anymore.

If Nintendo wanted to sell their NES (short for Nintendo Entertainment System of course) in the North American markets they needed a plan to hide to fact that was just another video game system from retailers who got burned by Atari's mistakes. The NES was then designed to look like a common box like VCR (instead of the Top Loading Japanese version) and the gimmick accessory R.O.B. helped to fool nervous retailers into buying the product. Nintendo made a deal with famous toy maker Mattel to help release it in fall 1985 (complete with unique display units), and the rest they say is history.

Another thing that helped the NES became so successful was its great list of games. A lot of now famous game series like the Metroid, Zelda and Final Fantasy started right here on the good ol' NES and then moved on to next generation machines. Games like the Contra series, some say, are actually better on the NES than the newer game machines. There are also games on the NES you won't find anywhere else like The Guardian Legend, and Life Force (The Life Force series is popular in Japan though, but sadly we never saw a real sequel over here). The NES may be dead but it's not buried quite yet. Many still love the NES and the revolution in gaming that changed the way we look and play video games. It's part of our culture! For collectors those games are now getting harder to find now of days and some of them may be worth a pretty penny in the future. I still like this system because most of the games are under 5 bucks and they still mostly play great despite their age. The NES may be old but the system didn't last nearly 10 years for nothing ya know.

The NES Accessories (what you need to know)
NES Controller
The standard Nes Controller looked really weird to me at first because I was still use to Atari's analog joysticks of the early eighties but it didn't take before the new digital crosspads became second nature. After a few hours of play though my hands did feel a bit stiff because of the square and stiff design but that's usually a good sign that I have been playing too long. The Select and Start buttons seem kinda pointless and sometimes I wish there was a extra 'C' button to go with the other 2 red action ones.

Light Gun
Games like Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, Wild Gunman, Freedom Force, and at least 10 more games need the use of the Nintendo Light Gun to play. Plug the gun in the second controller serial of the NES and then the system should respond to your shots. Most light gun games are fairly limited in the game play department so the Light gun and its are not must haves.

R.O.B. Robotic Operational Buddy
The ROB robot only supports 2 NES games (Stack Up, and Gyromite) and is only recommend to serious video game collectors. The thing is really quite useless because of it's slow reaction time, and thing even needs the use of 4 AA batteries and 1 D battery. The original ROB also comes with a bunch of gyros, add ons, and platforms plus the game Stack Up as some very rare additional support parts as well.

Game Genie
This strange little device here was surrounded by controversy because it lets you add cheats to your NES games. At the start of every game with the Game Genie device on the bottom on your cart you can add interesting stuff like extra or unlimited lives, higher jumps, instant power ups and lots more. It's highly recommend that you buy a Game Genie with a code book because making your own cheat codes can take way too long and there is no guarantee your codes will work while playing if you decide to make your own. This is not compatible with the NES2 and some games may not work for the Game Genie as well. Nintendo themselves, did not license or approve of the GG but Galoob released it anyway.

Power Glove
"Remember this thing?" Simply place the Power Glove on your Right hand to play various games with your sudden hand strikes. Just buy another REAL controller instead of one of these awkward things.

U Force
The U Force box uses sensors to measure the actions of your hand but much like the Power Glove, the new control take a lot of getting use to and many did not like the concept or even care for that reason.

Rating: 95/100 Great for beginners or experts a like. "Let's face it, the NES has it all!"
Look for the NINTENDO on eBay here!

Rare Scale: 2/10 It's harder to find one in mint shape than it was a few years ago so if you find one in good shape you better pick it before it is too late. The Top Loading Nes2 is nearly impossible to find here in Canada.