Air Fortress (NES): Games of the Past

Air Fortress on Games of the Past

1. Introduction

Air fortress for the original Nintendo (NES) console is an old video game of the past that involves approaching and entering a chain of air fortresses which become more and more difficult to complete. Each stage has two parts. The first part involves approaching the fortress in a side scrolling style game, similar to Gradius. Along the way you will collect Energy points and special Bullets. After completing this, you enter the fortress and are now playing in an adventure type game. Your energy is used to move around with your jetpack, as well as take hits from enemies. There is also a recoil affect when you fire your weapon. You encounter different types of enemies, some of which can only be killed with the special bullets you picked up earlier. Your mission upon entering the fortress is to seek and destroy the "power core" and then escape before the fortress explodes. There is a very cool "lights out" effect that takes place after you destroy the "power core."

2. Gameplay



3. Difficulty

Air Fortress starts out very simple to get you warmed up. The first couple of fortresses are not very hard to complete. In fact at first I found myself wondering how you could possibly lose. However, this was answered soon enough. The energy you collect while approaching the fortress becomes extremely vital. You need to make sure that you collect every little bit of energy. It can get very frustrating. New and harder enmies are encountered both outside and inside the fortress. It also gets harder to find the exit after you have destroyed the power core and the self destruct countown initiates. If possible, it is a good idea to find out where the exit is before hand. But this can make it difficult to survive through the entire level. Thankfully the game provides you with a password when you lose so that you can continue by starting over on the current Air Fortress. I consider this game to be hard to beat.

4. Replay Value

Air Fortress is a very fun Nintendo NES game to play. Like most old video games, combine the fun with the difficulty of completion and you get a game that has good replay value. This is a good game to break out every now and then.

5. Do I Recommend...?

I recommend that you pick up Air Fortress for the Nintendo (NES)! I had not heard about this game until just last year. If you don't have this in your collection yet, pick it up!

6. Game Credits

Air Fortress was developed by Japanese video game maker HAL Laboratory. Air Fortress is a video game published in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System released in Japan in 1987 and later in North America in 1989.

Arkanoid (NES): Games of the Past

Arkanoid on Games of the Past

1. Introduction

Arkanoid for the original Nintendo (NES) is an old video game of the past that has had a major impact on the gaming world. Arkanoid has had several versions for many systems including the arcade. Arkanoid was the beginning of the "Brick Breaker" games. The concept of the game is extremely simple. You control a "paddle" at the bottom of the screen and move it left or right to keep the ball from falling out of the playing field. The ball bounces off of anything it comes into contact with. Your goal is to use the ball to clear all of the bricks from each stage. Sometimes "power-ups" drop from destroyed bricks, which you can pick up with your paddle. These have a number of effects, such as allowing you to shoot lasers. There are different types of bricks. Some bricks require one hit, others several, while the gold bricks will never be destroyed. The gold bricks are not required for stage completion, however. At stage 33 you will take on a boss, which is a massive head. Nintendo even released a special controller for Arkanoid called the "Vaus."

2. Gameplay

3. Difficulty

Arkanoid can be a very difficult game at times. Some people find it easier than others. One of the fun things about this old game is that each time the ball hits an object, its speed increases slightly. On many stages where it becomes hard to hit targets, this can make the game extremely difficult to keep up with. Thankfully the game provides continues for all stages up until the boss on stage 33. This must be completed using all remaining lives, because there are no continues on this stage.

4. Replay Value

Even though Arkanoid for the Nintendo NES is an old game, it has fantastic replay value. Sometimes the game can get frustrating, but that's nothing a break can't help. I find myself coming back to this game time and time again.

5. Do I Recommend...?

I highly recommend that you pick up Arkanoid for the Nintendo (NES)! Not only is it always fun, it is a pure classic that everyone should have in their collection.

6. Game Credits

Arkanoid was developed by Taito in 1986. It is based upon Atari's Breakout games of the 1970s. The title refers to a doomed "mothership" from which the Vaus, the player's controller, escapes.