Famicom World

Family Computer => Famicom / Disk System => Topic started by: Protoman on July 16, 2015, 04:08:58 am

Title: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Protoman on July 16, 2015, 04:08:58 am
I'm happy that I'm into Famicom because I get to experience a bunch of good games that most american or europe-only gamers don't play, but
when I think about it, the actual cream of the crop games, like Super Mario Bros 3, Mega Man 2, Castlevania etc, they all were released internationally.

Which are the Famicom-only games you think are the best, and do any of them rival the BIG international titles?
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Ghegs on July 16, 2015, 05:02:37 am
Some of the better JP-exclusive ones I could think of:

Holy Diver
Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima IV
Crisis Force
Recca

All are up there in quality for their respective genres.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Zycrow on July 16, 2015, 05:43:58 am
And there's stuff like Hebereke, LaGrange Point, Cosmic Epsilon...but to me it's more a matter of perspective. When you get into games that were considered very good or very popular on the Famicom, comparing them to the later international "classics" gets to be an apples and oranges scenario.

Like if you look at the Doraemon game from 1986 or, say, Door Door. Both of these games were popular and notable but you can't exactly compare them to Mega Man 2.

My philosophy in FC/NES games is that I want to own and play the games that have elements of care or quality. I can enjoy "decent" games that aren't "great" simply because they are FC games and because I understand the context in which they were made.

For example, I really enjoy playing the FC-exclusive game "Challenger," even though you could say "why play that when you could play literally any platformer made after 1989, they're all better." Same for stuff like Tower of Druaga or Star Force.

I guess I'd call it a historical perspective. I rambled on a bit there, but the gist is that you can enjoy a lot more games if you get into a certain mindset.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: zmaster18 on July 16, 2015, 05:48:18 am
Games that I think would have been pretty popular world-wide would be Ai Senshi Nicol and Bio Miracle Upa. I see why Bio Miracle Upa never was released in the west since you play as a baby and people would assume you're such a baby for playing a baby game. Ai Senshi Nicol is a great action game though. It's like a semi-linear Zelda game with a gun instead of a sword. It has great graphics and rocking music.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Protoman on July 16, 2015, 06:11:11 am
Quote from: Zycrow on July 16, 2015, 05:43:58 am
And there's stuff like Hebereke, LaGrange Point, Cosmic Epsilon...but to me it's more a matter of perspective. When you get into games that were considered very good or very popular on the Famicom, comparing them to the later international "classics" gets to be an apples and oranges scenario.

Like if you look at the Doraemon game from 1986 or, say, Door Door. Both of these games were popular and notable but you can't exactly compare them to Mega Man 2.

My philosophy in FC/NES games is that I want to own and play the games that have elements of care or quality. I can enjoy "decent" games that aren't "great" simply because they are FC games and because I understand the context in which they were made.

For example, I really enjoy playing the FC-exclusive game "Challenger," even though you could say "why play that when you could play literally any platformer made after 1989, they're all better." Same for stuff like Tower of Druaga or Star Force.

I guess I'd call it a historical perspective. I rambled on a bit there, but the gist is that you can enjoy a lot more games if you get into a certain mindset.


Hebereke came out in europe as Uforia though

I get you, but personally I tend to avoid the pre 1987 or so games because most of them have one-hit-kills and continue codes instead of passwords or saves etc, there's a lot of extra effort to play them, I guess this makes me a bad retro gamer but I kind of feel entitled to passwords/continues and some sort of health bar!

Then there are the what I call "strategy guide games" like Clash at Demonhead, Blaster Master or Milon's Secret Castle. Good games but if you don't know where to go and what to do, the experience of playing them will be much less satisfying, just running around in circles for a long time.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: zmaster18 on July 16, 2015, 06:16:34 am
Quote from: Protoman on July 16, 2015, 06:11:11 am
Quote from: Zycrow on July 16, 2015, 05:43:58 am
And there's stuff like Hebereke, LaGrange Point, Cosmic Epsilon...but to me it's more a matter of perspective. When you get into games that were considered very good or very popular on the Famicom, comparing them to the later international "classics" gets to be an apples and oranges scenario.

Like if you look at the Doraemon game from 1986 or, say, Door Door. Both of these games were popular and notable but you can't exactly compare them to Mega Man 2.

My philosophy in FC/NES games is that I want to own and play the games that have elements of care or quality. I can enjoy "decent" games that aren't "great" simply because they are FC games and because I understand the context in which they were made.

For example, I really enjoy playing the FC-exclusive game "Challenger," even though you could say "why play that when you could play literally any platformer made after 1989, they're all better." Same for stuff like Tower of Druaga or Star Force.

I guess I'd call it a historical perspective. I rambled on a bit there, but the gist is that you can enjoy a lot more games if you get into a certain mindset.


Hebereke came out in europe as Uforia though

I get you, but personally I tend to avoid the pre 1987 or so games because most of them have one-hit-kills and continue codes instead of passwords or saves etc, there's a lot of extra effort to play them, I guess this makes me a bad retro gamer but I kind of feel entitled to passwords/continues and some sort of health bar!

Then there are the what I call "strategy guide games" like Clash at Demonhead, Blaster Master or Milon's Secret Castle. Good games but if you don't know where to go and what to do, the experience of playing them will be much less satisfying, just running around in circles for a long time.

I agree with your point on 'strategy guide games'. Some games are designed so that you walk around not knowing where to go or what to do. I hate the 'where the F do I go' type of games. I think that Zelda II did a good job in guiding you on your own. There are roadblocks in the way that prevent you from going too far and wasting time.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Nightstar699 on July 16, 2015, 06:18:01 am
Second Ghegs' pick of Holy Diver... I'd add in Mitsume Ga Tooru, Cocoron, and Samurai Pizza Cats.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Great Hierophant on July 16, 2015, 08:00:57 am
I would add Gimmick and Just Breed for completeness' sake.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Ghegs on July 16, 2015, 08:45:59 am
Gimmick! was released in Europe as Mr. Gimmick, so it's not a Famicom exclusive.

@Nightstar699

I thought about mentioning Samurai Pizza Cats, but I just can't quite bring myself to say it rivals the internationally released games in the same way Holy Diver and Recca do. SMC is good no doubt, and I think it would've sold fairly well in US, but it falls a bit short compared to Tecmo's own Ninja Gaiden games, for example.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Nightstar699 on July 16, 2015, 08:55:49 am
Yeah, good point. Whereas Holy Diver absolutely ranks up there alongside Castlevania I and III.

Edit: I'd also add Time Zone, Don Doko Don 2 and Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3 as runner-ups.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Zycrow on July 16, 2015, 09:53:01 am
Quote from: Protoman on July 16, 2015, 06:11:11 am
Hebereke came out in europe as Uforia though

I get you, but personally I tend to avoid the pre 1987 or so games because most of them have one-hit-kills and continue codes instead of passwords or saves etc, there's a lot of extra effort to play them, I guess this makes me a bad retro gamer but I kind of feel entitled to passwords/continues and some sort of health bar!

Then there are the what I call "strategy guide games" like Clash at Demonhead, Blaster Master or Milon's Secret Castle. Good games but if you don't know where to go and what to do, the experience of playing them will be much less satisfying, just running around in circles for a long time.


Oh yeah, I forgot about Hebereke having a Euro release.

You're totally right about the "extra effort." It took me a long time to get to where I could enjoy those older, more obtuse games and the "strategy guide games." I'm willing to undergo a certain amount of suffering to enjoy games like that, but I wouldn't expect everyone else to. Like I think if Shovel Knight (for example) were homaging that era of NES games, rather than the later, more self-evident platformers, I don't think it would have been nearly as accessible or fun. :)
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Nightstar699 on July 16, 2015, 09:59:47 am
I gotta say, I'm also not a fan of the early pre-1987/86 FC games, the action genres just weren't very firmly established at this point. I'd say Spartan X and Yie Ar Kung Fu are my favorite early ones... I also like Binary Land and Nuts & Milk for some reason. But I'm guessing I'll have less than 10 pre-'87 games by the time I'm finished with my collection.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: P on July 17, 2015, 12:56:36 am
I actually like the real early NROM games. There's a certain charm simple games like Popeye or Pacman. :)

Picking a best game is very hard for me, but the Famicom has as all other systems tons of great games that never left Japan. Especially RPGs and adventure games. Although USA got a pretty good number of RPGs, they still missed out on FF2 and FF3.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: NintendoKing on July 17, 2015, 08:29:33 am
Quote from: Nightstar699 on July 16, 2015, 09:59:47 am
I gotta say, I'm also not a fan of the early pre-1987/86 FC games, the action genres just weren't very firmly established at this point. I'd say Spartan X and Yie Ar Kung Fu are my favorite early ones... I also like Binary Land and Nuts & Milk for some reason. But I'm guessing I'll have less than 10 pre-'87 games by the time I'm finished with my collection.


Oh my yes, all of those are great! Though Spartan X is Kung Fu, Spartan X 2 wasn't released outside Japan though. I struggle suggesting because others may not like what I enjoy.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Nightstar699 on July 17, 2015, 08:37:15 am
Yeah I guess Spartan X2 would also be among my honorable mentions for best Famicom exclusive... though it's so short and easy. I swear, if it had a respectable hard mode, it'd be right up there as one of my favorites. Such a finely-crafted game.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: zmaster18 on July 17, 2015, 08:47:50 am
I like the early Namco games like Mappy and Dig Dug. Even though I'm not a huge fan of Atlantis no Nazo, I think it was a very ambitious early Famicom game.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: L___E___T on July 17, 2015, 12:29:00 pm
Metal Slader Glory :)
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: chowder on July 17, 2015, 01:55:42 pm
Challenger.  I love that game for some reason.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Shumi Nagaremono on July 18, 2015, 08:43:18 pm
Crisis Force is the one that immediately springs to mind. 
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: o.pwuaioc on July 18, 2015, 10:26:38 pm
Seconding Holy Diver, Recca, Crisis Force, but also Dig Dug II, Goonies, Mappy, and Galaxian. A translated FFIII (if you don't know Japanese) is also a great gem.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: M-Tee on July 19, 2015, 02:44:55 am
I think a Best Famicom Exclusive by Year discussion would yield much fairer results. These are suggestions for Famicom cart releases only during the FC's 11-year officially supported lifespan. I'll chime in periodically with a post to cover each year, and simultaneously post these over on my blog (http://files.mteegfx.com).

I'll also include a language dependency rating for each, a simpler version of what BoardGameGeek uses:

None: Game's entirely in English. For non-English speakers, these would likely classify as "low," considering they were released in a non-English market.
Low: Completely playable without knowledge of the game's language. Likely contains minor text including starting menus, winning / victory screens, or cut scenes that do not affect gameplay.
Medium: Might require a cheat sheet for battle menus or specific game segments, etc.
High: Unplayable without a translation or working level of the game's language.

So, here it goes:



1983
Gomoku Narabe Renju
Language Dependency: Low

(http://files.mteegfx.com/Gomoku01.png)     (http://files.mteegfx.com/Gomoku02.png)
Connect 5, like Tic-Tac-Toe (Naughts & Crosses) with far greater depth. Players alternate turns placing stones on the board in an attempt to get 5-in-a-row. Features 2-player competitive play and a competent CPU opponent. The wife and I have played this one numerous times, in lieu of pulling out one of our Go boards. A passing familiarity with the starting restrictions intended to reduce Black's first-move advantage alleviates any confusion one would have when starting, but even without, it doesn't take much trail and error to figure them out.

Runner-Up:
Popeye no Eigo Asobi (Popeye's English Game)
Language Dependency: Medium

(http://files.mteegfx.com/PopeyeEnglish01.png)     (http://files.mteegfx.com/PopeyeEnglish02.png)
Puzzle Game A mode is a fantastically fun learning game, which takes on new life as a learning tool for an English speaker that's studying very basic Japanese. Word Catcher is a pretty unique 2-player competitive version of the same setup, but Puzzle Game B is basically just Hangman in English.

Fun Fact: Still want to learn some Japanese through a Hangman-like game, but can't read it? Have no fear, KingMike's Fan Translation (http://www.romhacking.net/translations/785/), which romanizes all of the Japanese text, is the answer for you:

(http://files.mteegfx.com/PopeyeKingMike01.png)     (http://files.mteegfx.com/PopeyeKingMike.png)


Post Merge: July 19, 2015, 09:03:39 am

1984
Nuts & Milk
Language Dependency: None

(http://files.mteegfx.com/NutsMilk01.png)     (http://files.mteegfx.com/NutsMilk02.png)
The first third-party title for the Famicom, and to-date one of the best entries in the library. An extremely entertaining, albeit simple, single-screen platformer, Nuts & Milk features 50 levels (available at game start via the select button), two difficulties, and a level-editor. In it, you play as Milk, a pre-Kirby-esque blob, who must collect all the fruit on each stage to reach his lady friend, while avoiding his blue-skinned counterpart(s). I've put far too many hours into this one since acquiring it last year or so, and will likely continue to do so.

Runner-Up:
Mappy
Language Dependency: None

(http://files.mteegfx.com/Mappy01.png)     (http://files.mteegfx.com/Mappy02.png)
An arcade port, another platformer, but with horizontal scrolling. You're Mappy, a cop mouse. Your job is to retrieve stolen good from a series of mansions filled with trampolines, doors, and cats.

Also Available in Europe:
Devil World
Language Dependency: None

(http://files.mteegfx.com/DevilWorld01.png)     (http://files.mteegfx.com/DevilWorld02.png)     (http://files.mteegfx.com/DevilWorld03.png)
Would have taken the Runner-Up spot were it not also released in Europe. A first-party title in the Pac-Man maze game category, where you and a pal can play as two dragons co-op and must avoid obvious precursors to Shy Guys while trying to thwart the plans of the azure-skinned and scarlet-pantied Devil. Heavy on arbitrary use of Christian symbolism, this could have been a contender stateside with a bit of localization, either as a very early release or as a budget title later on.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: nerdynebraskan on July 19, 2015, 10:05:57 am
I actually like several of the simple NROM games as well. The FC port of Dig Dug is really well done.

But I understand the clear favoritism shown here toward the powerhouse carts like Crisis Force and Gimmick! as well. When I think of great games, my first inclination is also to reach for the titles whose hardware and software really pushed the platform to its limits.

Altogether, I think there are about 150 great FC games that never saw international release, and I'm not good at narrowing a list that massive to one definitive best. Adventure Island IV, Final Fantasy III, and Holy Diver have all been mentioned here, and I'll repeat them. Mother/Earthbound Zero and Sweet Home are a couple of other RPGs that would've outclassed half of the ones we did get in the US. Gradius II, Recca, and Uchuu Keibitai SDF are elite shooters. Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, Mitsume Gatooru, Moon Crystal, Tetris 2 and Bombliss, and Wai Wai World 2 all deserve a mention as well.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: P on July 19, 2015, 02:57:05 pm
Even though answering the initial question seems impossible, this is a great thread as it highlights many of the most loved exclusives. ;D

Devil World isn't Famicom exclusive though. I know I played it on NES long ago and it wasn't localized at all.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: M-Tee on July 19, 2015, 08:55:38 pm
That's why I mentioned that Devil World was released in Europe.  ;D

To a North American collector who just picked up a Famicom, it'd be new to them, so I reckoned it was worth mentioning. Nintendo of America did have a fairly strict "no Christian symbolism" rule  at the time, and in Reagan-era U.S, it likely favored them very well.

Likely some of these may have had offiial "Asia Version" 72-pin releases as well. I'll need to track  down a list of those to make note of as well.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: senseiman on July 20, 2015, 02:34:08 am
I dont think anyone has mentioned these gems yet:

Battle City
Banana
Yuma Penguin Monogatari
Route 16
Gordy no Pipeline
Star Wars (namco version)

All good games.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: P on July 20, 2015, 07:06:43 am
Quote from: M-Tee on July 19, 2015, 08:55:38 pm
That's why I mentioned that Devil World was released in Europe.  ;D

To a North American collector who just picked up a Famicom, it'd be new to them, so I reckoned it was worth mentioning. Nintendo of America did have a fairly strict "no Christian symbolism" rule  at the time, and in Reagan-era U.S, it likely favored them very well.

Likely some of these may have had offiial "Asia Version" 72-pin releases as well. I'll need to track  down a list of those to make note of as well.


Oh right you did mention it wasn't an exclusive. I didn't think the anti-religion policy was in effect that early though, since there are many crucifixes in games that seemed to have slipped through. The cross in Zelda II comes to mind.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: M-Tee on July 20, 2015, 08:50:53 am
I don't know the ins-and-outs. Apparently, it officially started in 1988 (http://www.jjmccullough.com/Nintendo.php).

Likely though, releasing a name with Devil in the title unless you were specifically marketing the Hard Rock / Metal crowd in the 80s in the states wouldn't have been a wise decision. Haha
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: L___E___T on July 20, 2015, 08:56:29 am
I for one have never understood that - are certain regions in the States THAT sensitive?  England is obviously a Christian country and we've never had any problem with Christian imagery in popular culture, even The Life of Brian was deemed acceptable overall back in the late 70s and early 80s (although there was some vocal opposition)..

I've never understood how having a meager cross in games was a massive problem, is it a Catholic thing?
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: zmaster18 on July 20, 2015, 09:23:38 am
Star Wars by Namco is a good one. Even though it's friggin tough and there's no continues, it's an awesome test of skill. I especially like the music and cinematic scenes.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Ghegs on July 20, 2015, 09:45:21 am
Quote from: zmaster18 on July 20, 2015, 09:23:38 am
Star Wars by Namco is a good one. Even though it's friggin tough and there's no continues


There actually are continues, but they're hidden. When the Game Over screen with Vader's head appears, hold up and press A eight times. I recall it requires having a certain amount of Force energy left, or it won't work.

Really fun game, too. I was working on a no-continue clear a year or so ago and I managed to get pretty far in (Hoth, I think it was) before I got distracted by something shiny. Been meaning to get back to it. Alas...
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Zycrow on July 21, 2015, 05:40:46 am
Love your year-by-year rundown, M-Tee. Nuts & Milk and Mappy are pretty high on my to-own list.

Also I don't think we've mentioned Goonies, which is a great pre-1987 platformer. Maybe that one got a Euro release, I'm not sure - I know it did show up in US arcades as well.

I really enjoy a lot of the early Hudson and Namco games, just for their simple arcade feel.
And speaking of Hudson...

Quote from: chowder on July 17, 2015, 01:55:42 pm
Challenger.  I love that game for some reason.



Me too! Can't really explain why - it's not exactly a great game - but when I sit down to play FC for just a few minutes, I tend to go to either that one or Star Force. I'd never heard of Challenger before watching its episode on GameCenter CX.

Post Merge: July 21, 2015, 12:32:13 pm

Quote from: L___E___T on July 20, 2015, 08:56:29 am
I for one have never understood that - are certain regions in the States THAT sensitive?  England is obviously a Christian country and we've never had any problem with Christian imagery in popular culture, even The Life of Brian was deemed acceptable overall back in the late 70s and early 80s (although there was some vocal opposition)..

I've never understood how having a meager cross in games was a massive problem, is it a Catholic thing?


Oh, I meant to respond to this as well. I've spent most of my life in those "certain regions," and yes, people will go nuts over the dumbest things. Name any reasonably popular cartoon or children's property in the 80s or 90s and I guarantee there were religious people picking them apart to find all the juicy satanism. Our kids are having fun, satan must be involved somehow!

Dungeons & Dragons infamously suffered from this in the late 80s and it resulted in the writers changing the overtly judeo-christian elements (such as demons/devils) into more nonspecific fantasy elements for a while. It surprises me not at all that Nintendo wanted to avoid this type of thing (although ironically, D&D sales bumped way up thanks to all the media exposure).
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: M-Tee on July 22, 2015, 07:50:32 pm
Challenger's coming up on my list, for sure. I totally love that game.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Moseng on July 23, 2015, 03:39:31 am
Quote from: Great Hierophant on July 16, 2015, 08:00:57 am
I would add Gimmick and Just Breed for completeness' sake.


Adding Gimmick is a good decision so far by you. Go for it.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: L___E___T on July 23, 2015, 03:43:52 am
Best first post ever :)
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Nightstar699 on July 23, 2015, 05:15:22 am
Quote from: Moseng on July 23, 2015, 03:39:31 am
Quote from: Great Hierophant on July 16, 2015, 08:00:57 am
I would add Gimmick and Just Breed for completeness' sake.


Adding Gimmick is a good decision so far by you. Go for it.


Besides the fact that, as previously stated, it isn't a Famicom exclusive. :///////
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Great Hierophant on July 23, 2015, 08:15:17 am
Quote from: Nightstar699 on July 23, 2015, 05:15:22 am
Quote from: Moseng on July 23, 2015, 03:39:31 am
Quote from: Great Hierophant on July 16, 2015, 08:00:57 am
I would add Gimmick and Just Breed for completeness' sake.


Adding Gimmick is a good decision so far by you. Go for it.


Besides the fact that, as previously stated, it isn't a Famicom exclusive. :///////


It was unless you lived in Scandanavia :P
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Nightstar699 on July 23, 2015, 08:26:46 am
I see what you're getting at, but an obscure/limited release is still a release. Otherwise I'd have listed Daiku No Gen-San/Hammerin' Harry as part of my initial post.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: L___E___T on July 23, 2015, 09:31:01 am
Yeah, just cos a game didn't come out in the States, that doesn't make it even a bit of an exclusive to the format.  It came out on the NES and exists in 72 pins, that means it is not an exclusive.

If you go down that route then I could go on and on about how X game was a Famicom exclusive because it only came out here in 50hz and in limited quantities. 

It aint the same, the US does not count differently just because it's a bigger country or home turf ;)
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Great Hierophant on July 23, 2015, 10:31:09 am
Many of those PAL games were released in limited quantities, totally unknown to the larger U.S. market and would not work correctly in a U.S. machine due to the timing differences between 50Hz and 60Hz machines.  Also, unless the game came out in both the PAL-A and PAL-B region, it was not generally playable in the PAL territories.  It is admittedly stretching the "Best Famicom exclusive" category, but not by much.  Also, Gimmick! has a sound chip that was not present in Mr. Gimmick!.  So does Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, but CV3 had a wide release.

Post Merge: July 23, 2015, 10:32:12 am

Quote from: Great Hierophant on July 23, 2015, 10:31:09 am
Many of those PAL games were released in limited quantities, totally unknown to the larger U.S. market and would not work correctly in a U.S. machine due to the timing differences between 50Hz and 60Hz machines.  Also, unless the game came out in both the PAL-A and PAL-B region, it was not generally playable in the PAL territories (how to disable the lockout chip was not common knowledge in the NES era).  It is admittedly stretching the "Best Famicom exclusive" category, but not by much.  Also, Gimmick! has a sound chip that was not present in Mr. Gimmick!.  So does Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, but CV3 had a wide release.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Nightstar699 on July 23, 2015, 10:53:07 am
But you see, I wouldn't count Akumajou Densetsu as a Famicom exclusive. As superior as the Japanese version is to its Western counterparts, that'd just be blatantly untrue. Having regional differences doesn't automatically make one release a different game from the other. Otherwise, hell, most the good games on the system would be Famicom exclusives, just due to minor text/title differences.

I think it's silly to count Gimmick as a Famicom exclusive just because its Scandinavian release is so rare, that's essentially saying that a game doesn't exist if it's hard to find.

Also, has anyone mentioned Robocco Wars yet? Good game!
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: P on July 23, 2015, 11:10:01 am
What's so obscure about Scandinavia?  :)
This thread is about Famicom exclusives (I interpret that as non-bootleg 60-pin games), if one wants to discuss non-US releases one should just make a thread for that. M-Tee has a point in checking if any of the listed exclusives had 72-pin Asian releases as well.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Ghegs on July 23, 2015, 12:08:09 pm
Captain Saver is Famicom-exclusive. I know it was released in limited quantities in USA as Power Blade 2, but that doesn't count because I'm not American. It wasn't released here, after all.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: zmaster18 on July 23, 2015, 01:50:55 pm
I totally agree with M-TEE's best 1983 an 1984 Famicom exclusives. Good reviews. Gomoku Narabe(connect 5) is a great game for non-gamers as well. It's very simple to play and is a great logical board game. I also really like Popeye's English. It's great for practicing reading katakana and learning some new vocab.
Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: M-Tee on July 23, 2015, 06:59:24 pm
Famicom Games Better Than their Localized Counterparts

and

Famicom Games Improved Upon By Their Localized Counterparts

are both different conversations that are very much worth having, and could each support their own thread.

Games that weren't Famicom Exclusives because they were Released in Limited Markets are worth mentioning in this conversation, but should clearly be labeled as such. For all intents and purposes, someone new to Famicom collecting and making a wishlist could very well benefit from their inclusion in the discussion. 

That's the way I'll be interpreting it at least.

@zmaster
These are the characters used in Popeye's English.
(http://files.mteegfx.com/PopeyeChar.gif)

I guess it is katakana only. I believe I referred to it incorrectly as hiragana, and should probably edit that.

Anyways, '83 and '84 didn't have many exclusives. '85 and '86 will probably kick up some conversation though, as there were quite a few.

Title: Re: BEST Famicom exclusive?
Post by: Mo-hd on September 04, 2015, 12:00:36 am
My favorites:

Atlantis no Nazo
Captain Tsubasa 2: Super Striker
Hino Tori: Hououhen Gaou no Bouken

Great games and enjoyable. :)