Jeremy Parish

NES Works 125: Monster Party & Street Cop

I enjoyed creating this episode, which gave me the excuse to finally play Monster Party. It's pretty good! This is not a game that I went into blinded by nostalgia, so the fact that I enjoyed it (except for the accidental "gotcha" in the penultimate stage) speaks well to its fundamental quality.

I did enjoy playing Street Cop less. Not because of the premise so much as because it's a Power Pad game. Thank god there's only one more of those to go.

January bonus #5: Sega Taikan Special 4K LaserDisc Rip

Another 4K LaserDisc rip, this time of the Sega Taiken Special disc that featured Galaxy Force front-and-center. It also included the same Out Run material that I have on something like three other VHS tapes. Recycling was big business in the ’80s, I guess.

Once again, this is another case of me doing something (posting an LD rip in 4K) just because I can. But I'm going to get a ton of mileage out of this material for future Segaiden videos, so having access...

Hey so

Here's a look at what absolutely HAS to be the world's first 4K capture of game footage from a composite-modded Casio PV-1000.

The last of the equipment I need to put together a brief bonus video series on the PV-1000 arrived yesterday. I don't think I'm going to be able to knock out the first episode by the end of the month, but stick around and there'll be two of them in February. It's a strange and interesting system, so I think it'll be worth the wait.

NES Works 124: Hydlide

Man, what's up with all these long videos lately? I try to target 10 minutes as my ideal length, but just look at this mess. Stupid NES publishers, releasing games that generate interesting commentary.

Anyway, Hydlide is another one of those NES carts that kind of sucks, but in an interesting way. In this case, it fails as an NES release because it came out in 1989, long after every other developer in the industry making action RPGs had said, "Dang, that looks awesome!" and rip...

January bonus #4: Konami Shooting Best LaserDisc 4K rip

Another LaserDisc for you. Packed with all kinds of game-breaking exploits as punk teenagers absolutely humble some of the most challenging games of all time. Once again, in 4K. I love that these LaserDiscs existed. Bubble-era Japan was out of control.

I hope to have a proper monthly bonus episode for you next weekend. I've been held up by the fact that the controller for the system I'm recording from broke in transit, and the replacements I've ordered have both been frustratingly slow ...

NES Works 123: Operation Wolf & Airwolf

It's a video game retrospective and a look at the historic and cultural trends that shaped so much of what we saw in the media during the 1980s. I wish the games in question were better and that the trends were more cheerful, but this is the material I have been given by history. 

Personally, if I were on the public relations advisory board for wolves, I'd probably recommend legal action over the defamatory nature of these games.

January bonus #3: The History of Video Games II (4K LaserDisc rip)

Apologies for not getting this up sooner! I lost track of time over the weekend while preparing for a trip and juggling podcast stuff. But here is last weekend's bonus upload: A rip of an hour-long LaserDisc called The History of Video Games II: Namco 1 & 2. It is... an hour of footage of Namco's arcade games. Nothing really exciting. But, I think it's pretty remarkable that someone out there in the late ’80s was banking on "the history of video games" as a concept that people ...

NES Works Gaiden #61: Tetris (the Tengen one)

I am not a lawyer, and I don't even play one on TV, so you're about to watch a 20-plus-minute documentary on Tengen Tetris that almost entirely elides over the complex legal issues surrounding this version. In place of me rehashing court summaries offered extensively by a bajillion other people, I threw in a discussion of Bullet Proof's Tetris for Famicom instead. I hope you'll forgive me.

January Bonus #2: Famimaga Video Issue 12 Video Rip

Aaaand with this upload, I have now ripped and posted the entirety of the Famimaga Video series. All 12 tapes. Are there more out there? Not that I've been able to find! But who knows. Seemingly lost stuff pops up all the time.

With that series complete, I'll switch things up a bit for the remainder of the month before delving into another VHS publication from the same era, but a very different one.

NES Works 122: Predator & Taboo

I'd like to say that this week's episode brings you the sweetest taboo, but it doesn't! Taboo: The Sixth Sense is not all that sweet: A lightweight fortune-telling program masquerading as a video game. Imagine being the child who purchased this as the only game they could afford from several months' allowance based on the sweet-as-hell box art. Still, that's probably better than being the kid who bought Predator, a movie tie-in that aims high and falls flat in the mud. Sure,...

January Bonus #1 (actually a December bonus...)

Hi all, I just realized that I didn't post this past weekend's bonus item over the weekend. I had so much going on with a family visit for the New Year holiday that I totally brainfarted—sorry about that! This is a rip of the next-to-last Famimaga Video tape. I'll be finishing that series up soon so that we can move along to weirder and more interesting things. Not that Famimaga Video hasn't been weird and interesting at times, but we can always go deeper...

By the way, I've ...

NES Works Episode 121: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde & Amagon

Sorry about ending the year on a pair of stinkers. But on the plus side, it means things can only get better in 2024. Right???

I did not deliberately pair these games based on their mutual theme of heroes who turn into a raging monster of a man. It just kind of worked out that way. Sometimes, the universe is funny like that. Although honestly the fun ends the moment you experience either of these games. Bad games are sad like that.

December Bonus #4: V-Jump Chrono Trigger Preview Video VHS Rip

Merry Chronomas!

Here is another bonus VHS rip for you—a tape promoting the eternally popular Super NES RPG Chrono Trigger. This was distributed by V-Jump magazine, because their boy Akira Toriyama helped with the game. As you well know! Can you spot any differences from the final game? The main theme certainly sounds different to me...

December bonus #3: Famimaga Video issue 10

Apologies for the lack of a bonus video last weekend. I promised myself I wouldn't let the process of selling my home and moving to a new one impact my output. And yet! I let that one video slip. Oh, woe. The shame. The humiliation.

Anyway, I'll post two this weekend to make up for it.

Today, we have another Famimaga Video. It's weird how they keep regurgitating some of the same promo material over and over again, but I have to assume that's down to sponsorships and the f...

NES Works 120: Adventures of Lolo

NES Works returns to its regularly scheduled, uh, schedule here with episode 120, which covers a game I have a lot of fondness for: Adventures of Lolo. HAL Labs made some great games back in the day, and buying a copy of this one from my local rental shop (who would put used rentals on sale for hilariously good prices after a few months) back in the day cemented that logo into my brain as an instant endorphin trigger, long before Kirby and Smash Bros. It probably al...

Another forgotten Japanese console

Welp, Christa Lee of Sound Retro Co. has gone and modded yet another weirdo console from the early days of Famicom for me, allowing video capture at a much higher level of quality than its creators ever intended. In this case, we have a Casio PV-1000, which now can output a composite signal rather than mere RF. With only 13 games in its library, this monthly patron-first side series won't run much longer than the Gakken TV Boy retrospective—six episodes max. But, like the TV Boy, tracking d...

December Bonus #2: Famimaga Video Issue 9 [Jan. 1990]

We're nearing the end of the Famimaga Video series, and this one has some really cool stuff in it. Not least of all a conversation between Yuji Horii and Shigesato Itoi about, one assumes, Dragon Quest IV and EarthBound Beginnings. I've asked for help with a formal translation of that segment, but you can get the gist of it by watching the auto-translated subtitles. I sure wish I had known about that PC Engine hardware preview before posting my Analogue Duo episode, though... it would have co...

Turbo Works #000: Analogue Duo

Hey, so a bit of a change-up this week. Since I've published a video under an embargo here, this week's video goes live for Patrons and normies at the same time, a couple of days earlier than usual. I hope this is not too distressing for you.

Turbo Works won't actually begin until next summer, but I've been immersing myself in the history and logistics of the TurboGrafx-16 throughout most of 2023. So the Analogue Duo arrives at an almost perfect time. "Almost" because it means ...

NES Works #119: Legacy of the Wizard

It's pretty easy to call games like Ninja Gaiden and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles major releases. They enjoyed plenty of hype leading up to their release, sold impressively, and continue to be fondly regarded by fans. Legacy of the Wizard, though? I don't really know where to pin this one. I feel like it's fared better in retrospect than it did at the time—especially given that, at the time, it became a universal markdown title, available at major retailers for $2...

December Bonus #1: NES Works Gaiden Epoch-12

Another bonus video, a week after the last? Yes, well, this is my last chance to get Epoch-related content out ahead of RndStranger's daily video series. That rascal, undercutting my years of planning like this.

But also, I felt pretty inspired by the quality of the games in question. Well, the game. Comic Circus turned out to be way better than I expected! I genuinely enjoyed it. I can't say the same about the second game this episode, but it does at least have the benefit of ...

NES Works 118: Fist of the North Star & Mystery Quest

I remember one time I babysat my then-elementary-aged nephew. He was undergoing a brief fascination with 8-bit games because the pixelated look reminded him of Minecraft, so I sat him down in front of my NES capture station so he could have a proper experience. We played a few familiar games like Mario, but eventually he wanted to branch out and try different things. So I let him browse the game list, where he quickly seized on Mystery Quest, because it sounded inte...

November bonus #5: NES Works Gaiden Epoch 11

The Super Cassette Vision returns at last after the Gakken hiatus. I don't love either of these ports, but after the TV Boy's agony, they both feel like an absolute oasis in the desert. Hopefully you will agree that, if nothing else, at least it's nice to have some vibrant RGB video output.

NES Works 117: The Guardian Legend

Well, what is there to be said about this game that I haven't already said in this video? And the Metroidvania Works video it showed up in? And the many articles I've written over the years singing its praises? And... [wanders off, mumbling incoherently]

It's always nice when I can upload a video about a good game on the same week as one of the annual "appreciate the good things in life" holidays. This year, be thankful for The Guardian Legend. And other stuff, too. But especia...

November bonus #4: Dragon Slayer IV (Legacy of the Wizard) Original Soundtrack tape rip

Here's a little something to whet your appetite for an upcoming video. I have been working on the Legacy of the Wizard episode this weekend, and it reminded me of the game's excellent soundtrack. As it happens, James Eldred snagged a copy of the game's OST on tape a few months back, and I have digitized it. You may have heard snippets of this on a recent Retronauts Radio episode, but here's the whole thing in its crunchy MSX glory—a bit different in its overall quality to the more familiar ...

NES Works 116: Mappy-Land and Dance Aerobics

There's something a little poignant about this episode arriving in the midst of Horrible Internet Discourse about The Marvels, because I think the legacy of Dance Aerobics has suffered due to the fandom perception that it's for girls and therefore inferior and probably infested with cooties. And yeah, it's certainly marketed toward women, but the assumption that a game focused on that demographic has nothing to offer is ridiculous. There's some pretty inter...

November Bonus #3: Konami Best Selection LD rip

Well, look at that. Another bonus. It's almost like a regular feature of this channel, or something.

I thought you might enjoy a little break from the video magazines for some pure, simple video game stuff. This time, is the Konami Best Selection LaserDisc, which features superplay footage of Thunder Cross, Haunted Castle, and Super Contra (plus a little Konami arcade retrospective!). The Haunted Castle footage is especially interesting to me, because I've never been able to reach the e...

NES Works 115: Track & Field II and World Games

Good morning! And indeed it is good, because I finally feel alive enough to sit in front of a camera again and record hosting segments after my beloved partner in marriage decided to take the "in sickness" part of our vows seriously and pass some kinda sinus crud along to me. I can't promise that this video was necessarily worth the wait, as I'm not a huge fan of this sort of fragmentary sports mini-game collection. But maybe you are! And if so, here you go. And if not, well, at least the wai...

A Final Fantasy VI promotional VHS tape courtesy of V-Jump

Hey all, I'm running a little behind this week due to illness. I should have your regularly scheduled NES Works up by the weekend. In the meantime, here is a make-good: A VHS rip of a V-Jump promotional video tape for Final Fantasy VI. Now, you may be saying to yourself, "Self, why would I possibly care about some huckster promoting an old video game in rapid-fire Japanese over top of VHS-grade game footage?" Well, Self, you're only asking that because you don't realize that this video featur...

November bonus #1: Famimaga Video #8: Nov. 1989

We've entered the back stretch of Famimaga Video's brief but beautiful run of providing me with cool B-roll footage while also helping to document the evolution and transition of Japanese console gaming from the 8- to 16-bit era. You can really see that in effect here, with the bulk of this tape focusing on PC Engine games! A thing like that.

I apologize for the slightly rough video quality of this "issue," and the annoying background buzz throughout. Gathering secondhand VHS t...

NES Works 114: Marble Madness & John's Elway's Quarterback

OK! Back to business as usual. It's Wednesday. Enjoy your danged video, consarn it.

The talky bits for this episode (and a few others to come) were recorded on-site at Portland Retro Gaming Expo this year (with my coworker Joe Modzeleski handling camera duties). Apologies to those of you who had hoped never to see my face in HD again! I've also decided to take a new approach to the Nintendo Power bits, showcasing nice photos of relevant spreads rather than attempting to incorporate moti...