Difference between revisions of "Nintendo Entertainment System"

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[[Image:NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|The North American NES.]]
 
[[Image:NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|The North American NES.]]
  
The '''''Nintendo Entertainment System''''' is a video game console created by [[Nintendo]]. It was released first released in 1983 in Japan as the '''''Family Computer''''' or '''''Famicom''''' for short, and in America in 1985.
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The '''Nintendo Entertainment System''', first released in Japan as the [[Famicom|Family Computer]], is a third-generation video game console created by [[Nintendo]]. It was first released in 1983 in Japan and in America in 1985. The system uses a Ricoh 220A processor which is a modified [[MOS 6502]] with an integrated audio processing unit (APU), and a custom picture processing unit (PPU).
  
Back around 1988, my brother and I pooled our paper route money to buy the Action Set which came with the [[Zapper]], two [[NES Controller|controllers]], and a [[Super Mario Bros. + Duck Hunt]] dual cart. I still have the system, though it barely works now due to the poor design. It has become one of my favorite video game platforms ever made. We later got the [[NES Advantage]], a friend of mine had the [[NES Max]], and my cousins had the [[Power Pad]]. For awhile we had a [[Game Genie]], and I also remember borrowing a [[Game Action Replay]].
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Back around 1988, my brother and I pooled our paper route money to buy the Action Set which came with the [[Zapper]], two [[NES Controller|controllers]], and a [[Super Mario Bros. multicarts|Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt]] dual cart. I still have the system, though it barely works now due to the poor design. It has become one of my favorite video game platforms ever made. We later got the [[NES Advantage]], a friend of mine had the [[NES Max]], and my cousins had the [[Power Pad]]. For awhile we had a [[Game Genie]], and I also remember borrowing a [[Game Action Replay]] for a short time.
  
 
==Status==
 
==Status==
I own a very damaged, but still working original NES.
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I own a very damaged, but still working, original model NES.
  
==Favorite Games==
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==Games==
Of the games I've played on the system, I have particularly enjoyed:
+
: ''See all [[:Category:NES Games|NES Games]].''
* [[Bionic Commando]]
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* [[Contra]]
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These are the NES games that are important to me:
* [[DuckTales]]
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<gallery>
* [[Final Fantasy]]
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Bad Dudes - NES - USA.jpg|[[Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja|Bad Dudes]]
* [[The Goonies II]]
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Bionic Commando - NES - USA.jpg|[[Bionic Commando (NES)|Bionic Commando]]
* [[Guerilla War]]
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Contra - NES - USA.jpg|[[Contra (NES)|Contra]]
* [[The Legend of Zelda]]
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Dragon Warrior - NES - USA.jpg|[[Dragon Warrior]]
* [[Mega Man II]]
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DuckTales - NES - USA.jpg|[[DuckTales]]
* [[Metroid]]
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Final Fantasy - NES - USA.jpg|[[Final Fantasy]]
* [[Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!]]
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Goonies II, The - NES - USA.jpg|[[The Goonies II]]
* [[River City Ransom]]
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Guerrilla War - NES - USA.jpg|[[Guerrilla War (NES)|Guerrilla War]]
* [[Section-Z]]
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Legend of Zelda, The - NES - USA.jpg|[[The Legend of Zelda]]
* [[Shadowgate]]
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Life Force - NES - USA.jpg|[[Life Force]]
* [[Super C]]
+
Mega Man 2 - NES - USA.jpg|[[Mega Man II]]
* [[Super Mario Bros.]]
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Metroid - NES - USA.jpg|[[Metroid]]
* [[Super Mario Bros. 3]]
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Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - USA.jpg|[[Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!]]
* [[Tetris]]
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River City Ransom - NES - USA.jpg|[[River City Ransom]]
* [[Ultima III: Exodus|Ultima: Exodus]]
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Section-Z - NES - USA.jpg|[[Section-Z]]
* [[Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar|Ultima: Quest of the Avatar]]
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Shadowgate - NES - USA.jpg|[[Shadowgate]]
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Spy Hunter - NES - USA.jpg|[[Spy Hunter]]
 +
Super C - NES - USA.jpg|[[Super C]]
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Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA.jpg|[[Super Mario Bros.]]
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Super Mario Bros. 2 - NES - USA.jpg|[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]
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Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES - USA.jpg|[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]
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Tecmo Bowl - NES - USA.jpg|[[Tecmo Bowl]]
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Tecmo Super Bowl - NES - USA.jpg|[[Tecmo Super Bowl]]
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Tetris - NES - USA.jpg|[[Tetris (Nintendo)|Tetris]]
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Ultima - Exodus - NES - USA.jpg|[[Ultima: Exodus]]
 +
Ultima - Quest of the Avatar - NES - USA.jpg|[[Ultima: Quest of the Avatar]]
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Uninvited - NES - USA.jpg|[[Uninvited]]
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Legend of Zelda 2, The - Adventure of Link, The - NES - USA.jpg|[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
==Hardware==
 +
* [[Four Score]]
 +
* [[Game Action Replay]]
 +
* [[Game Genie]]
 +
* [[NES Advantage]]
 +
* [[NES Controller]]
 +
* [[NES Max]]
 +
* [[Power Pad]]
 +
* [[Satellite]]
 +
* [[Zapper]]
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
 
 
===Good===
 
===Good===
 
* Many great games were released on the platform.
 
* Many great games were released on the platform.
 
* The controllers, though not the most comfortable to hold, were very tough and could survive a lot of abuse.
 
* The controllers, though not the most comfortable to hold, were very tough and could survive a lot of abuse.
 
* The system's PPU (picture processing unit) was designed very well and provided some of the best graphic abilities of the day.
 
* The system's PPU (picture processing unit) was designed very well and provided some of the best graphic abilities of the day.
* The APU (audio processing unit) built into the CPU was was the best audio for a home console at the time. While it featured the typical 3 pulse wave, 1 noise channel design, Nintendo wisely changed one of the pulse waves into a triangle wave giving it a more robust sound, and added a DPCM channel for digital sound effects, voice, and even sample-based music.
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* The APU (audio processing unit) built into the CPU was was the best audio for a home console at the time. While it featured the typical 3 pulse wave/1 noise channel design, Nintendo wisely changed one of the pulse waves into a triangle wave giving it a more robust sound. They also added a DPCM channel for digital sound effects, voice, and even sample-based music.
 
* Allowing cartridges to include additional chips for additional functionality was a fantastic idea which greatly extended the life of the platform.
 
* Allowing cartridges to include additional chips for additional functionality was a fantastic idea which greatly extended the life of the platform.
 +
* Nintendo of America wisely created an official magazine to help direct buyers toward the best games.
  
 
===Bad===
 
===Bad===
 
* Despite Nintendo's strong control over the platform, far too many horrible games were made for the system, which led to the market becoming over-saturated with crappy games.
 
* Despite Nintendo's strong control over the platform, far too many horrible games were made for the system, which led to the market becoming over-saturated with crappy games.
* The available color palette is pretty awful.
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* The available color palette of the PPU is pretty awful.
 +
* The system is not very ascetically pleasing to look at.
 +
* In order to eliminate competition, Nintendo prevented those developers who initially released their games on the NES from releasing them on any other console.
  
 
===Ugly===
 
===Ugly===
* The spring-loaded toaster design was a serious engineering flaw that caused most systems to stop working properly after only a couple years, and Nintendo didn't accept responsibility and fix them.
+
* The spring-loaded toaster design was a serious engineering flaw that caused most systems to stop working properly after only a couple months, and Nintendo didn't accept responsibility and fix them.
* The lock-out chip was also major contributor to games not working properly.
+
* The lock-out chip was also a major contributor to games not working properly.
  
==Documentation==
+
==Media==
 +
===Documentation===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
NES - Manual.pdf|Manual.
 
NES - Manual.pdf|Manual.
 +
Top Secret Passwords - Nintendo Player's Guide.pdf|Top Secret Passwords - [[Nintendo Player's Guide]].
 +
NES Game Atlas - Nintendo Player's Guide.pdf|NES Game Atlas - [[Nintendo Player's Guide]].
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Gallery==
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===Gallery===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
Every Official NES Game Released In the USA.jpg|Every Official NES Game Released In the USA.
 
Every Official NES Game Released In the USA.jpg|Every Official NES Game Released In the USA.
 +
Nintendo Entertainment System - Advanced Video System 1985-Q1 Prototype.jpg|An early prototype called the Advanced Video System. Include tape-recorder for data read/write, a keyboard, and a [[BASIC]] interpreter. First quarter of 1985.
 +
Nintendo Entertainment System - 1985-Q3 Prototype.jpg|A later prototype of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Third quarter of 1985.
 
J2Dstar - Playing With Power!.jpg|Fan art by J2Dstar.
 
J2Dstar - Playing With Power!.jpg|Fan art by J2Dstar.
 +
Satoshi Matrix - Top 100 NES-Famicom Games.png|Favorite games of Satoshi Matrix.
 +
Master System - NES - Toys R Us Ad.jpg|Toys "R" Us ad with a [[Master System]].
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 +
 +
===Videos===
 +
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVgWaIAiOBY youtube.com/watch?v=gVgWaIAiOBY] - Boundary Break.
 +
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWQ0591PAxM youtube.com/watch?v=ZWQ0591PAxM] - Fitting a game into 40 KB.
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
 
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System] - Wikipedia.
 
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System] - Wikipedia.
 +
* [http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/nes/list-games mobygames.com/browse/games/nes/list-games] - MobyGames.
 +
* [http://tasvideos.org/EmulatorResources/NESAccuracyTests.html tasvideos.org/EmulatorResources/NESAccuracyTests.html] - Accuracy tests of NES emulators.
  
  
[[Category: Platforms]]
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[[Category: Video Game Platforms]]

Revision as of 16:42, 14 December 2018

The North American NES.

The Nintendo Entertainment System, first released in Japan as the Family Computer, is a third-generation video game console created by Nintendo. It was first released in 1983 in Japan and in America in 1985. The system uses a Ricoh 220A processor which is a modified MOS 6502 with an integrated audio processing unit (APU), and a custom picture processing unit (PPU).

Back around 1988, my brother and I pooled our paper route money to buy the Action Set which came with the Zapper, two controllers, and a Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt dual cart. I still have the system, though it barely works now due to the poor design. It has become one of my favorite video game platforms ever made. We later got the NES Advantage, a friend of mine had the NES Max, and my cousins had the Power Pad. For awhile we had a Game Genie, and I also remember borrowing a Game Action Replay for a short time.

Status

I own a very damaged, but still working, original model NES.

Games

See all NES Games.

These are the NES games that are important to me:

Hardware

Review

Good

  • Many great games were released on the platform.
  • The controllers, though not the most comfortable to hold, were very tough and could survive a lot of abuse.
  • The system's PPU (picture processing unit) was designed very well and provided some of the best graphic abilities of the day.
  • The APU (audio processing unit) built into the CPU was was the best audio for a home console at the time. While it featured the typical 3 pulse wave/1 noise channel design, Nintendo wisely changed one of the pulse waves into a triangle wave giving it a more robust sound. They also added a DPCM channel for digital sound effects, voice, and even sample-based music.
  • Allowing cartridges to include additional chips for additional functionality was a fantastic idea which greatly extended the life of the platform.
  • Nintendo of America wisely created an official magazine to help direct buyers toward the best games.

Bad

  • Despite Nintendo's strong control over the platform, far too many horrible games were made for the system, which led to the market becoming over-saturated with crappy games.
  • The available color palette of the PPU is pretty awful.
  • The system is not very ascetically pleasing to look at.
  • In order to eliminate competition, Nintendo prevented those developers who initially released their games on the NES from releasing them on any other console.

Ugly

  • The spring-loaded toaster design was a serious engineering flaw that caused most systems to stop working properly after only a couple months, and Nintendo didn't accept responsibility and fix them.
  • The lock-out chip was also a major contributor to games not working properly.

Media

Documentation

Gallery

Videos

Links