Current Events > Jaws on NES

(+) Yeah! (+)

Since the 4th of July is next weekend, I thought it would be a good time to play Jaws on NES.

You know those fake boasts you read online about beating a game in under an hour, only losing once, and winning despite a glitching controller? That legitimately happened to me.

The Angry Video Game Nerd was not exaggerating when he said that the thought process behind the enemies was just to have some that go vertical and some that go horizontal. As long as you know to avoid ambushes on the ocean floor, this game makes The Little Mermaid look like Gradius.

There's a mini-sub that will allow you to take an extra hit without dying and you can also remain in the boat at the start of a level until an enemy collides with it. I let Jaws strike the boat and the mini-sub without me dying and that was the only offense that Jaws got the entire time. He swims from one side of the screen to the other and sluggishly aims at you.

I couldn't imagine being a kid in the 80s and getting this for a Christmas or birthday present, let alone dropping my allowance money on it, only to beat the game in under an hour or two.

<_<

Love this game lol. Easy to beat too.
https://youtu.be/nrkgSTMas74

The background graphics in the game are great, especially the pixel art on the title screen. But they must have felt that putting extra detail into surface of the water was enough because they certainly didn't put that effort into the gameplay.

Jaws himself just kinda sluggishly aims for the player as he moves from right to left and then left to right. There were a few times that I almost ran into him, one of the smaller sharks, or a jellyfish. But the only offense that Jaws got was the pity offense that I gave when I let him strike the boat and submarine without killing me.

https://youtu.be/HOQS8ipcSSY

^ I didn't know you could fire bombs from the ship. I thought it was just there for visual effect before you took control of a man in scuba gear.

I had a friend who had this, and he would get annoyed when I played it

rodu_jr posted...

I had a friend who had this, and he would get annoyed when I played it

You were probably playing it better than him.

This is like the NES equivalent of pay-to-win.

"I can't beat Zelda 2. I can't beat Battletoads. I just want one NES game that isn't impossible."
"Psst, buddy. You got $10?"

I saw Jaws The Revenge in the theater, was 6 years old almost 7. Then I remember getting the game for cheap that year. Good times even though the movie was hot garbage.

Apparently, according to a video on YouTube, you're in the boat until Jaws hits you - making contact with him completely unavoidable. I find that hilarious because you know the programmers realized he was super easy to avoid and programmed the game in such a way to give him a free hit.

Power level 3 is all you need.

FortuneCookie posted...

You know those fake boasts you read online about beating a game in under an hour, only losing once, and winning despite a glitching controller? That legitimately happened to me.

There are multiple Nes games that can be beaten in less than an hour.
https://youtu.be/Rcn87fxVOO8

I played this game as a kid when it was new and the NES was fairly new.

It's not a good game.

While we're at it, can we talk about the movie JAWS and how it's incredibly over-rated?

By the way, I played the game before I even saw the movie, I'm old but the movie came out before I was even born. Still... it's a slow movie that isn't interesting during the slow parts. I don't mind a slow movie if it's interesting or pays off. JAWS just spins it's wheels a lot, unless you actually like the characters which I didn't.

After, go play Jaws Unleashed.

Torgo posted...

I played this game as a kid when it was new and the NES was fairly new.

It's not a good game.

While we're at it, can we talk about the movie JAWS and how it's incredibly over-rated?

By the way, I played the game before I even saw the movie, I'm old but the movie came out before I was even born. Still... it's a slow movie that isn't interesting during the slow parts. I don't mind a slow movie if it's interesting or pays off. JAWS just spins it's wheels a lot, unless you actually like the characters which I didn't.

I think the way movies are paced has changed in the past few decades. Last year I did a Bond marathon and found that the first ten or so feel very slow. Not necessarily in a bad way, just very noticeable.

Torgo posted...

While we're at it, can we talk about the movie JAWS and how it's incredibly over-rated?

No, we can't.

Because it isn't.