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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: NES Remix Pack
10 years ago
The first game in the lot of things I got for my birthday. Here we go.
NES Remix Pack
A game full of NES games? Well that sounds neat, though there is a bit of a twist here. It is a big one though, and one that most people should be aware of when they buy this game. What is this twist? Well, all you have to do is stay tuned here and you will find out about it. Does this twist ruin the game as well? Well, let's find out about it and how it feels to have your games like this.
Gameplay
The main gameplay of the NES remix revolves around using old NES games and making mini games out of them. Yes, you heard me, making these old classics into mini games. Instead of playing the games themselves in their entirety, you take turns on the games playing short little games out of the games. For example, having to collect a certain number of coins in Mario Brothers before time runs out. Clearing an entire round of a puzzle in Wario's Woods. It could also be things like completing areas of Metroid without taking any damage. This is both a neat concept and a bit of a disappointment as well. For those that bought this game hoping for it to be a collaboration of all these NES games in their entirety, they will be disappointed big time. Those that bought this game knowing what they were getting into, and enjoy mini games, then they will get some great enjoyment here. The developers did use great creativity when it comes to choosing what levels, games and missions need to be done to complete each little mini game. The entire point of all this is to first, collect stars from how well you play the mini games to unlock more levels and game choices for you to play as. On top of that are remix levels that can throw crazy twists at you, such as playing a level of mario brothers with a completely black background, having link get through a level of Donkey Kong and such like that. The more stars you get, the more of these levels you can play. There are also stickers you can unlock for a collection in the game. You get these by completing the levels and getting bits for how well you did on the level you just completed. If you are going for a complete set, it really isn't that too hard as you unlock around 90% of them naturally as you are playing the game. You will only have to grind just a little bit to get the rest of them. There are two full sets of NES Remix games here as well, which is why it is called a pack. There were two of these games that were released digitally originally, so this is both of them on a single disk for your WiiU. This means there are a lot of games for you to play through. Each remix has around ten games or so for you to play through, a few extras as well in the remix sections that have one or two small mini games around them, such as Hockey and Baseball for example. Remix 2 also has a few extras as well thrown in, such as Super Luigi Brothers, which is the original Mario Brothers for NES, but backwards. You are literally walking right to left, instead of the other way around. Basically, think of the original game just mirrored on itself while playing as Luigi. There is also a championship mode, which is basically the Nintendo World Championship cart's game rules. You play through Mario Brothers getting 50 coins, Mario 3 getting 25 coins and then use the remaining time on Dr. Mario instead of Tetris. When time is up, your score is calculated and you get a high score. Simple as that. Overall, the gameplay is very neat if you enjoy this mini game concept. Though the big downside is that it can get a little boring after awhile if you aren't into this type of gameplay on these old games. All you are doing is little game after little game and then moving on. You don't ever really get into the games long enough to get the full experience out of them, but some of them are better than others of course. People are always going to enjoy mario brothers. Some people may not enjoy Ice Climbers and such for example. Overall, I think this is enjoyable for what it is, but there was some disappointment, as I was expecting a little more than what I got in the end.
Story
There really isn't a story here as this is nothing but mini-games so I'll give this section a pass.
Graphics
Overall, the graphics I would say are pretty good, considering these are all NES games you are playing after all. You can't exactly give a game a penalty for playing games just from a different era. All the games represent themselves as they always have, and I have no complaints about that. All the menu's and such look just fine and nothing really seems to stick out as out of place. I'm sure they could have put a little more background stuff during the menu's and such like that, but for the most part, I would say everything is as I remember it and looking as it should be here.
Sound
The games sound just as you would imagine and all games seem to have all their music and sound effects in place as they should have them. If you enjoy old NES style music, you will of course enjoy all the music and sounds here. It is just those games musics. My only real complaint is that a few of the games, namely the Mario games Sound a tad funny to me sometimes, as well as a few others in certain spots. I'm not sure if those are just me hearing funny things or if it was really a sound glitch that has always been there or not, but overall, it still sounds like the games I always have known over the years.
Control
The games handle as they should for the most part. You know how to run and jump in Mario brothers, and how to race in excitebike and such like that. If you knew how to control the games back then, then you know how to do so now. The only difference being that you have the option of using the control stick or the d-pad. It is your choice, which is a neat option to have for these games. They were originally meant for d-pads, but the c-sticks work just the same in most cases. Main reason I gave this category a small hit was that I don't remember some of these games being as slippery in controls as they are here. There are just some games where it feels like you are on ice a bit more often than I would like. Maybe some of that was originally there and I just don't remember it that well, but still, for the most part, control really won't be much of an issue. It is only an issue here and there, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Replay Value
This is really the area that I think this game sort of suffers at for the most part. The replay value is there in that you can go back easily and play any game you want again and do whichever mini game you want, but that's just the thing right there. You have already done these mini games. It isn't like you are going back and playing the entire game again, which would be nice. Instead you are doing the same little mini games over and over again. This is where people can get easily bored of this game and not want to come back to it for awhile. Once you have done the mini games, you have done them. There is nothing else new to do. As I said, you can do them over again, but it isn't the same as if you were playing the games themselves over again where you can change a lot of things up and see what different happens. These mini games are supposed to be played in certain ways to get good rankings. That right there is really the only reason to keep playing mini games is to get better rankings, more stars, and more bits for stickers. Other than that, I don't see this game having long lasting appeal.
Overall though, despite some lackluster lasting appeal, the first time through this game is actually pretty fun. You get to enjoy all your old favorites, if you around to play these games originally, or have in the past at some point. This game does obviously rely on the fact that you have likely played these games before. You can tell this quite a bit with some of the challenges it throws at you in these games if you want to do well at them. As long as you have some love for these old games, I think you will still get enjoyment out of the mini games, and this entire game in general, and its extras. If you aren't a fan of the old NES era games though, I would avoid this game. For the rest of us, I'd check it out if you can find a copy of this physically.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give NES Remix Pack an eight out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: N/A
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 8
NES Remix Pack
A game full of NES games? Well that sounds neat, though there is a bit of a twist here. It is a big one though, and one that most people should be aware of when they buy this game. What is this twist? Well, all you have to do is stay tuned here and you will find out about it. Does this twist ruin the game as well? Well, let's find out about it and how it feels to have your games like this.
Gameplay
The main gameplay of the NES remix revolves around using old NES games and making mini games out of them. Yes, you heard me, making these old classics into mini games. Instead of playing the games themselves in their entirety, you take turns on the games playing short little games out of the games. For example, having to collect a certain number of coins in Mario Brothers before time runs out. Clearing an entire round of a puzzle in Wario's Woods. It could also be things like completing areas of Metroid without taking any damage. This is both a neat concept and a bit of a disappointment as well. For those that bought this game hoping for it to be a collaboration of all these NES games in their entirety, they will be disappointed big time. Those that bought this game knowing what they were getting into, and enjoy mini games, then they will get some great enjoyment here. The developers did use great creativity when it comes to choosing what levels, games and missions need to be done to complete each little mini game. The entire point of all this is to first, collect stars from how well you play the mini games to unlock more levels and game choices for you to play as. On top of that are remix levels that can throw crazy twists at you, such as playing a level of mario brothers with a completely black background, having link get through a level of Donkey Kong and such like that. The more stars you get, the more of these levels you can play. There are also stickers you can unlock for a collection in the game. You get these by completing the levels and getting bits for how well you did on the level you just completed. If you are going for a complete set, it really isn't that too hard as you unlock around 90% of them naturally as you are playing the game. You will only have to grind just a little bit to get the rest of them. There are two full sets of NES Remix games here as well, which is why it is called a pack. There were two of these games that were released digitally originally, so this is both of them on a single disk for your WiiU. This means there are a lot of games for you to play through. Each remix has around ten games or so for you to play through, a few extras as well in the remix sections that have one or two small mini games around them, such as Hockey and Baseball for example. Remix 2 also has a few extras as well thrown in, such as Super Luigi Brothers, which is the original Mario Brothers for NES, but backwards. You are literally walking right to left, instead of the other way around. Basically, think of the original game just mirrored on itself while playing as Luigi. There is also a championship mode, which is basically the Nintendo World Championship cart's game rules. You play through Mario Brothers getting 50 coins, Mario 3 getting 25 coins and then use the remaining time on Dr. Mario instead of Tetris. When time is up, your score is calculated and you get a high score. Simple as that. Overall, the gameplay is very neat if you enjoy this mini game concept. Though the big downside is that it can get a little boring after awhile if you aren't into this type of gameplay on these old games. All you are doing is little game after little game and then moving on. You don't ever really get into the games long enough to get the full experience out of them, but some of them are better than others of course. People are always going to enjoy mario brothers. Some people may not enjoy Ice Climbers and such for example. Overall, I think this is enjoyable for what it is, but there was some disappointment, as I was expecting a little more than what I got in the end.
Story
There really isn't a story here as this is nothing but mini-games so I'll give this section a pass.
Graphics
Overall, the graphics I would say are pretty good, considering these are all NES games you are playing after all. You can't exactly give a game a penalty for playing games just from a different era. All the games represent themselves as they always have, and I have no complaints about that. All the menu's and such look just fine and nothing really seems to stick out as out of place. I'm sure they could have put a little more background stuff during the menu's and such like that, but for the most part, I would say everything is as I remember it and looking as it should be here.
Sound
The games sound just as you would imagine and all games seem to have all their music and sound effects in place as they should have them. If you enjoy old NES style music, you will of course enjoy all the music and sounds here. It is just those games musics. My only real complaint is that a few of the games, namely the Mario games Sound a tad funny to me sometimes, as well as a few others in certain spots. I'm not sure if those are just me hearing funny things or if it was really a sound glitch that has always been there or not, but overall, it still sounds like the games I always have known over the years.
Control
The games handle as they should for the most part. You know how to run and jump in Mario brothers, and how to race in excitebike and such like that. If you knew how to control the games back then, then you know how to do so now. The only difference being that you have the option of using the control stick or the d-pad. It is your choice, which is a neat option to have for these games. They were originally meant for d-pads, but the c-sticks work just the same in most cases. Main reason I gave this category a small hit was that I don't remember some of these games being as slippery in controls as they are here. There are just some games where it feels like you are on ice a bit more often than I would like. Maybe some of that was originally there and I just don't remember it that well, but still, for the most part, control really won't be much of an issue. It is only an issue here and there, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Replay Value
This is really the area that I think this game sort of suffers at for the most part. The replay value is there in that you can go back easily and play any game you want again and do whichever mini game you want, but that's just the thing right there. You have already done these mini games. It isn't like you are going back and playing the entire game again, which would be nice. Instead you are doing the same little mini games over and over again. This is where people can get easily bored of this game and not want to come back to it for awhile. Once you have done the mini games, you have done them. There is nothing else new to do. As I said, you can do them over again, but it isn't the same as if you were playing the games themselves over again where you can change a lot of things up and see what different happens. These mini games are supposed to be played in certain ways to get good rankings. That right there is really the only reason to keep playing mini games is to get better rankings, more stars, and more bits for stickers. Other than that, I don't see this game having long lasting appeal.
Overall though, despite some lackluster lasting appeal, the first time through this game is actually pretty fun. You get to enjoy all your old favorites, if you around to play these games originally, or have in the past at some point. This game does obviously rely on the fact that you have likely played these games before. You can tell this quite a bit with some of the challenges it throws at you in these games if you want to do well at them. As long as you have some love for these old games, I think you will still get enjoyment out of the mini games, and this entire game in general, and its extras. If you aren't a fan of the old NES era games though, I would avoid this game. For the rest of us, I'd check it out if you can find a copy of this physically.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give NES Remix Pack an eight out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: N/A
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Control: 8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 8
