Winter CES: Nintendo Brings New Games To Play
The 1989 Winter CES is currently underway and to say Nintendo is on top of the world would be an understatement! They have by far and away the largest booth of any company out there, and it’s filled to the brim with exciting new games coming later this year to your NES!
Big this year is a new merchandising program that you should begin seeing in select retailers shortly. It’s called “World of Nintendo” and it’s sort of a store within a store concept that highlights everything Nintendo-related. You can expect to see everything in these areas, including the latest and greatest software and accessories for the NES.
But that’s not all! Nintendo was showing off a vast variety of merchandise with its logo and characters adorning everything from shirts and lunchboxes to underwear and watches. A cartoon show is on the way as is a brand new breakfast in a box called the Nintendo Cereal System. This unique cereal contains two separate bags – one containing a Super Mario Bros. fruity blend and the other a berry Legend of Zelda mix. Let’s hope the kids don’t fight over which one’s better!
But, of course you’re here to learn about the new Game Paks shown off at this year’s show. There are now over 40 games planned for this year from Nintendo and its third-party licensees. Here is what Nintendo has planned so far for this year. Remember that they typically don’t showcase everything at this show, as they often save some surprises for the Summer CES (which takes place in June). Nintendo announced they are planning bringing back Super Mario Bros. as a standalone cartridge and the Nintendo Zapper, each for $29.95. They are also going to sell the Power Pad separately with World Class Track Meet bundled in for $79.95. The new games are below:
NINTENDO
Pin Bot
Not content with already having a pinball game on the market (Pinball launched back in 1985 for the NES), Pin Bot promises to up the game considerably with incredibly detailed graphics and multiple tables to play on. This is by far the best looking pinball game we’ve seen for any video game system and should please hardcore fans not able to purchase the real thing when it launches later this year.
To The Earth
NES gamers are no stranger to the space shooter genre. That’s because there’s like 50 of them (OK, maybe we are exaggerating just a bit) already available on the system! Nintendo is tweaking the formula and at the same time supporting one of its most under-used accessories: the Zapper! That’s right, you’ll take matters into your own hands by aiming the Zapper at the TV and shooting down those space villains yourself. The game contains a host of different stages to clear and even includes large bosses to take on! This one looks promising for those with an itchy trigger finger. Plus, there’s no annoying dog laughing at you when you miss.
Trick Shooting
Another Zapper game for the NES! It looks like Nintendo is finally supporting the plastic gun that most of us have wrapped up and stored in the closet by now. Not much was shown of Trick Shooting, but Nintendo describes it as a sort of light-hearted carnival game. You’ll be tasked with shooting spinning plates, various targets, and even vegetables. This one looks to be aimed at (pun intended) younger audiences.
Faxanadu
Now, here’s a game we can sink our teeth into! Faxanadu is an epic adventure game that reminds us of a blend of Zelda II: A Link to the Past and Wizards & Warriors. The game puts you in the boots of a knight who goes on an epic quest through various destinations to take out all sorts of evil creatures, like zombies, dwarves, and gnomes. You’ll earn gold and be able to upgrade your equipment and weapons. With most of the country still trying to track down a copy of Zelda II, we expect this one to be a little ways off, but it looks like we’re going to be doing plenty of jumping and slashing this year!
Cobra Triangle
From the same folks who brought you R.C. Pro-Am comes a brand new boat racing game: Cobra Triangle! This one looks like it’ll be the real deal, with high-speed water racing as well as weapons to take out the competition. The game features the same kind of diagonal top-down graphics seen in R.C. Pro-Am and promises to have plenty of hazards, like whirlpools and logs, to try and slow you down. On top of that there are loads of ramps to rocket you into the air for perfectly timed jumps and special pods and weapons to collect along the way. This action-packed racer looked a bit early, so we’re not sure if it’ll make it out this year or not. Stay tuned!
Dance Aerobics
Snore. OK, so we get that you want something new for your expensive plastic mat (the Power Pad is required), but I doubt many kids had this kind of game in mind. This one’s definitely aimed at the adults and health-conscious consumers out there. We’re not sure the market exists for this sort of “game”, but at least Nintendo is branching out from the usual stuff.
All in all, Nintendo had a decent number of new games to show off, but it seemed to be missing the heavy-hitters we saw last year, like Super Mario Bros. 2 and Zelda II. Having said that, we’re still deep into the chip shortage and many NES owners still can’t find those games, so maybe it’s best Nintendo sort of take it easy this year until they can play catch up with demand. After all, try to even find a Nintendo system on store shelves right now is nigh impossible. There are plenty of third party games on tap for this year as well, which we will cover in subsequent columns.
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
