Nathan vs His Game Collection: Day 14 - Label Damage

Today's is going to be short, both because I'm short on time and there isn't all that much to say about the games in question. Still, here's a youtube link to a Skyrim theme on violin and piano. Purdy.
And that's it! Boring day over here from me; busy with life stuff, but still managing to put out a daily review batch because I care.

Destiny of an Emperor

A little background

 Oh geez, oh gosh, oh man, what happened to that label? This was another gift, and it looks like the game went through the war, not to mention there's that huge price-tag on the lower half. Oh well...it happens. 

Destiny of an Emperor is a Capcom joint, though it looks more like a Koei game had a baby with Dragon Warrior. It was released in September of 1990, and is widely considered a "hidden gem" of the NES library? Is it?

First impressions last forever

Holy cow, this game is so Dragon Warrior. Having to enter a menu to talk and examine, the sprites look exactly like Dragon Warrior (only more Japanese , the and even the mountains and trees in the world map have a Dragon Warrior flavor. How many times can I say Dragon Warrior in a review? Dragon Warrior, Dragon Warrior, Dragon Warrior...

But as I played further...

 It gives a somewhat weak first impression, with truckloads of ambiguous text and a weird opening cutscene and no explanation for what you are doing (besides killing a band called the "Yellow Scarves." Really threatening name there, guys). But before long, you realize this game is basically just Final Fantasy (again, another game they knocked off) only much more fast paced. Which, honestly, I'm down with that.

Fights are done in random encounters that look...bland, but it does have some nice character pictures in the corner when they attack. A little touch I really liked was that your hit points are actually soldiers under the commander's...well, command, and when you get hit you lose that many guys. Massive manslaughter here!

You gain more commanders and tacticians as you advance, and in order for your sub-generals to do advanced commands you have to assign them a tactician. You can only have six people in your party at once ("only"...), but the battles are very fast and pretty hard, which is a plus.

So what's the conclusion? 

I will openly admit I didn't play enough of this game to probably give it a fair rating, but I will say that I warmed up to it quite a bit after getting a little more into it. While my initial impressions were just "Lame Dragon Warrior knockoff," the game actually feels a bit more like Dynasty Warriors meets Final Fantasy, which is pretty neat. The story seemed ok, and the translation was at least decent. As a whole, if you are looking for a totally unique turn-based strategy game on the NES that isn't a Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior game, Destiny of an Emperor is worth checking out.
Copies are usually between $5-10 (depending on the label damage...)

Donkey Kong Classics

A little background

I will openly admit this review is kind of stupid, because Donkey Kong Classic is just a compilation of Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr, and I own a DK Jr. cart, so it's next on the list alphabetically. But for the sake of purity, we're doing this one first.

Donkey Kong Classics is...well...two NES Donkey Kong games together. It was released in October of 1988, and it's worth noting that was two years after the ill-received Donkey Kong 3, which isn't on this cartridge. I guess even Nintendo knew that game wasn't as good as the other two.

Since I'm going to give my thoughts on Jr after this, I'll just focus on the original for this review, since I don't actually have an original Donkey Kong cart as of yet. 

 First impressions last forever

 Donkey Kong looks very similar to the arcade game, which is a good thing. The sound effects are spot on, and even though a few graphical effects (like DK smashing down the stage before it beings) are missing, it's still solid gameplay-wise. I also think it's easier than the arcade version, though I can't pinpoint exactly why. 

But as I played further...

 The biggest fault of this version is the missing level three, which this compilation doesn't even have. If they were making a "best of," couldn't you have brought that level back? I know you have more than enough space on the cart!

That aside, Donkey Kong is still a fun game that I'm awful at. Not as bad as Burger Time, mind, but still not that fantastic. I'm no "King of Kong" if you know what I'm saying. Also, go watch that movie. It's great. 

So what's the conclusion? 

Do I really have to explain Donkey Kong? You jump. You climb ladders. You dodge barrels. You do it over and over until you get a high score. Simple.

Another thing that fries my bacon about this compilation, I should point out: no battery backup. The original games didn't have it and that made sense - they were older games before battery backups became normal. But for this? Not saving any of my saves after I turn the NES off? This is an arcade game, for crying out loud, two of the most iconic of all time. For this "greatest hits" you could have at least saved my scores, if you aren't going to put that level back in!

That's really the biggest problem with the port, to be honest, because besides that it's perfect. If you like Donkey Kong and/or Donkey Kong Jr, this is the copy to pick up, as it's usually as much as any one of those two carts, and has both game on it and they run flawlessly. 

Also, mine has a little scratch on the top, continuing the "label damage" theme. See? Consistency. 

The game is usually $10-15. 

Donkey Kong Jr. 

A little background

Ah, Donkey Kong Jr. My favorite of the original Donkey Kong arcade games. 

This cart came out in June of 1986, four years after the arcade release. It is pretty much a perfect port of the original Arcade game and, unlike Donkey Kong, isn't missing any levels. It's also noted as being the first game where Mario is actually the bad guy, capturing the big dumb ape and forcing his wifebeater-wearing son to come save him. 

As a fun fact, it's implied that Cranky Kong in Donkey Kong Country is the original Donkey Kong, and since he's that game's Donkey Kong's grandfather, it means DK in Country is the son of Donkey Kong Jr. Leave it to Rare to think our freaking arcade games needed some weird continuity with their series. So does Mario come visit the Donkey Kong Country world? Is Pauline there? Who knows? 

Nobody, that's who. And nobody cares, either. Just like the Donkey Kong Rap. Why does that exist?

First impressions last forever

 I love Donkey Kong Jr. I don't know why, but it is one of the few arcade games I really got good at. The game has some clunky controls, and it takes a while to realize that if Jr falls from just a little too far, he'll die (what?!). However, after dying a few times in the first world you start to get the hang of it, figuring out the two-handed climb (which is faster going up) and the one-handed slide (which is faster going down) in order to best burn through the levels. 

But as I played further...

I've also always felt this game is better than Donkey Kong for a few reasons. First, it gives you an offensive capability that was skill based, not just picking up some stupid invincibility hammer. Knocking down fruit to hit enemies is tricky. Second, it does a good job mixing climbing with jumping, while the original Donkey Kong was more about the jumping than anything. DK Jr. takes the best from the original and spices it up, which I think was smart. 

So what's the conclusion? 

This is one of my favorite old arcade games (which I'm actually pretty good at, weirdly enough, though not that good). It's similar to Donkey Kong in a lot of ways, but also does well branching out on its own and being unique because of it. Both games are very distinct and require different styles of play to master, and are absolutely necessary for any collector's library.
Copies are around $7-15, but you should probably just get the Donkey Kong Classics collection in this case.