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Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril (New NES game!)

LevirulesLevirules Registered User regular
edited March 2010 in Games and Technology
Anyone seen this? On Monday, a new NES game was released via RetroUSB.com. It's a physical NES cart, not a ROM image to use on an emulator, and it was coded from scratch, it isn't a ROM hack. The gameplay is pretty much a straight cross between Mega Man and I Wanna Be The Guy. It was actually inspired heavily by IWBTG, as you can instantly tell by the main character's sprite. Believe it or not, IWBTG fan games have become its own little genre in itself.

Here's a trailer he put together a couple months ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnxdgzQB_ps

link to the demo, in ROM format:

http://www.nintendoage.com/media/_usermedia/attachments/BK-demo1.zip

Link to the game on RetroUSB:

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=86

I'm not affiliated, nor am I trying to spam links or anything, I just wanted to share in case anyone else at PA is like me, and still reeaaalllyyyy enjoys retro gaming, has an ambitious growing NES collection, and thinks Mega Man 10 will be a total goty contender XD .. I ordered mine on Monday, still haven't gotten it... I live in NY and it looks like it's coming from CA. I'm impatient -_-

Thoughts?

Levirules on

Posts

  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Wow, that's pretty impressive. If my NES was still in working condition I would consider buying a copy.

    Darmak on
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  • VistiVisti Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Wow, that's an awesome initiative. I wonder how many they'll ship.

    Visti on
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  • MegaMekMegaMek Girls like girls. Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    This is certainly interesting. Kinda wish I had a functional NES to try this out.

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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Visti wrote: »
    Wow, that's an awesome initiative. I wonder how many they'll ship.

    Enough to meet demand, I assume. There are other homebrewed Nintendo games at RetroUSB that have been sold for years. If you mean you want to know its total sales, so do I. :)

    I hang out at the site/IRC chat where games like this are developed. I've been (slowly) working on my own NES game as well. It's pretty challenging and fun.

    UncleSporky on
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  • VistiVisti Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Yeah, I was wondering how many people still have an NES to play this on AND still would consider buying games for it.

    Visti on
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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Not enough. It's really a labor of love.

    Although Sivak has been marketing it pretty strongly to the collector crowd, attended conventions with the demo, that sort of thing. Weird people like me who listen to chiptunes.

    I don't think I'll be buying it though because I always found Megaman difficult as it was, and IWTBTG is just ridiculous. I wouldn't find it fun, as admirable as it is.

    Now these projects, I can really get behind:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFoBdeLDVc8

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb9GzcHtdzU

    UncleSporky on
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  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Someone working in this scene has to be well aware how quickly the game is going to be ROM dumped and fileshared. He's just offering a nifty way for those who want to be able to recompense the creator to do so.

    Jam Warrior on
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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Jam Warrior wrote: »
    Someone working in this scene has to be well aware how quickly the game is going to be ROM dumped and fileshared. He's just offering a nifty way for those who want to be able to recompense the creator to do so.

    The active dumping/hosting community is mostly tied into this scene and will honor the fact that the game's still being sold. The rest of the sites that host these probably don't maintain their NES sections anymore, or are uninterested in unofficial Nintendo games.

    I doubt you could find dumps of many of the other games sold at RetroUSB, simply because it's low profile. However if this game achieves a high enough profile, then you're right. Playing the game isn't the point of the cart - it's more to support the creator and for collecting.

    I know from talking with the owner of RetroUSB that there is an exclusivity contract so the creator doesn't release a ROM and cannibalize his own sales. Depending on the situation I would hope you could release the ROM after six months to a year of physical cart sales, that's what I'd want to do anyway. A lot of people don't have working NESs anymore and I'd want people to be able to play it.

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  • DaveTheWaveDaveTheWave Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    I found out about this game on Nintendo World Report today. It was sold out this morning but when I checked the site again this evening they apparently had some more copies so I boughted it immediately. Looking at the trailer, some bits were lifted tile for tile out of Mega Man games but it's such a cool project that I felt the need to support the creators. Looking forward to it.

    Apparently I didn't see it at NWR. I saw it somewhere but can't remember.

    DaveTheWave on
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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Actually he was very concerned with being accused of plagiarism, he made every effort to not use any existing artwork. There was one tile left in by mistake that was from Megaman that he replaced before the final sales release.

    The spike balls are very close, but really, how many different ways are there to draw spike balls?

    UncleSporky on
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  • Brainiac 8Brainiac 8 Don't call me Shirley... Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    I plan on ordering a copy for myself...it's just too awesome someone did this.

    My NES will be happy to have it's first shiny new game in years. :P

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  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    edited February 2010
    And for those of you without working a working NES, since the patent on the NES dropped there have been plenty of new, cheap models being made by various Asian companies and they work rather well so you could always buy one of those. I might buy one too, actually, since I still have most of my NES games from when I was a child.

    Darmak on
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  • DaveTheWaveDaveTheWave Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    UncleSporky wrote: »
    Actually he was very concerned with being accused of plagiarism, he made every effort to not use any existing artwork. There was one tile left in by mistake that was from Megaman that he replaced before the final sales release.

    The spike balls are very close, but really, how many different ways are there to draw spike balls?

    I kind of meant that in terms of layout rather than actual sprites used. The one bit with the platforms that sequentially appear and disappear. I remember it being in at least one MM game. Anyway, I can see it more as a homage than plagiarism. It doesn't bother me.

    Cool factoid, though.

    DaveTheWave on
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  • acidlacedpenguinacidlacedpenguin Institutionalized Safe in jail.Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    I think that's pretty much obligatory for the genre.

    I mean, you can only make jumping from platform to platform so hard and then you have to do things like make the platforms disappear and move around.

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  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    edited February 2010
    I had convinced myself to buy the game and I went to the store today and it's already sold out! Hopefully they'll make more copies of it so I can purchase one.

    Darmak on
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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Darmak wrote: »
    I had convinced myself to buy the game and I went to the store today and it's already sold out! Hopefully they'll make more copies of it so I can purchase one.

    It's been sold out several times already.

    The first 30 or so copies sent out were accidentally unfinished prototype versions from last year. Whoops...

    UncleSporky on
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  • Capt HowdyCapt Howdy Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Visti wrote: »
    Yeah, I was wondering how many people still have an NES to play this on AND still would consider buying games for it.

    At least two in this thread. I'm one of 'em! :mrgreen:

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  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Eek. $30 is a bit high. At $15 or $20 I would have bought it on the spot.

    n1370419557_304346_6167516.jpg

    I still play the thing at least 2 or 3 hours a week. Now the SNES and NES are on separate shelves, mind you.

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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    maximumzero wrote: »
    Eek. $30 is a bit high. At $15 or $20 I would have bought it on the spot.

    I won't say it's being sold at cost, but there is not really a lot of profit being made. This game doesn't even have SRAM (battery backed up save), that would be $50-$60.

    UncleSporky on
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  • KMGorKMGor Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Yeah, NES cart parts are evidently expensive. Evidently significantly more than Genesis or Jaguar carts, anyway. Pier Solar is being sold for a bit above cost, for $35 shipped, and it comes with a box and insert artwork.

    I ordered Battle Kid last night. :mrgreen:

    KMGor on
  • KMGorKMGor Registered User regular
    edited March 2010
    I got my copy. I've played it for like 4 or 5 hours. Very hard, frustrating, but fun. Very good controls, very well made. For those wondering, it has save spots ala IWBTG, and a password system. I'll also say if you're planning to play on an HDTV, you'd better PRAY it doesn't have even the slightest bit of upscale lag...

    But yeah, good game. Very impressive for being made almost entirely by one man. Good music too.

    KMGor on
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