Board 8 > Wallz Plays Every NSO Game

(+) Yeah! (+)

On October 10, 2013, Torbjrn Thor Pedersen left his job, girlfriend, and family behind in Denmark to embark on an epic journey. His goal? To visit every country in the world without flying. Thor has just returned home, having completed his journey after a decade.

Hi, Im Wallz. I like video games and setting ambitious goals Ill almost certainly never follow through to completion. In honor of Thor Pedersens impressive feat, today I embark on a significantly more impressive quest to play and, where applicable, beat/complete every game offered via Nintendo Switch Online in the NA region. This includes replaying games Ive played before. My realistic goal is to at least spend some quality time playing every one of these titles. I suppose theres a chance some titles will get delisted, at which point those games will no longer count towards my goal.

I am hoping we have 4-5 more years before NSO is decommissioned which would mean getting through a couple titles a week on average should be a winning pace. This is under the seemingly safe assumption Nintendo will continue to drip feed a few titles a while longer before no new titles are added. I doubt I can sustain such a pace, especially since many older games will require a lot of practice, but lets hope this fools errand is fun nonetheless. Also, Im ignoring those SP versions of games, obviously.

Feel free to chat about games youre playing on NSO, relevant news, or just complain about the lack of GameCube and DS games.

Lets a-go, shall we? Ill update counts as titles are beaten/added to the service.

NES games: 0/65
SNES games: 0/57
N64 games: 0/23
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games: 0/44
GB/GBC games: 0/15
GBA games: 0/11
Total games: 0/215

What games are you most excited to play for the first time?

And are there any games you already anticipate will be a chore to beat?

Have you not beaten any of these before, or is the count 0 because you're planning to replay those?

changmas posted...

What games are you most excited to play for the first time?

And are there any games you already anticipate will be a chore to beat?

Good questions! Most excited to play - I have never played EarthBound and Im intrigued by Sin and Punishment. But my top choice would be the Donkey Kong Country games, Ive only ever played 5-10 minutes of the first game. There are a lot of games Im looking forward to Ive barely played (15 minutes to a few hours) including Super Metroid, Super Mario World 2: Yoshis Island, F-Zero X, Pilotwings 64, and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.

As far as a chore to beat, I hope to have fun, but I guess Id give a nod to the games which Ive never played but are said to be notoriously difficult such as Ghosts n Goblins, Ninja Gaiden, etc.

@changmas do any titles come to mind for you that youd anticipate being a chore if you were trying to beat them all?

Xeybozn posted...

Have you not beaten any of these before, or is the count 0 because you're planning to replay those?

Im planning to replay. I would estimate Ive completed two dozen of these titles, so a little over 10%. Thats not including technically unbeatable games Ive played.

The mad lad

Are you going to play the Mario games again? and are you going to play the NES and All-Stars versions of SMB1-3 and LL?

Also mind if I join you on this quest?

Ninja Gaiden isn't so bad, since it has unlimited continues. The final boss section is the only real sticking point due to how far back it sends you if you die.

jcgamer107 posted...

The mad lad

Perhaps :)

MZero posted...

Are you going to play the Mario games again? and are you going to play the NES and All-Stars versions of SMB1-3 and LL?

Also mind if I join you on this quest?

Yes, yes, and most definitely yes! Id absolutely love the company. I decided to just replay the Mario games because theyre some of my favorites and they dont take very long. I will also play the Super Mario Advance versions, so if Im remembering correctly that means playing SMB twice, LL twice, SMB2/USA three times, SMB3 three times, SMW twice and Yoshis Island twice.

I have been debating which order to tackle games in. Theres release order, order they came to NSO, or whatever order I feel like. Ill probably do a mix of these methods, most important thing is having fun and avoiding burnout so I wont be super rigid. But I am tentatively planning to kick things off with the 20 NES games NSO launched with, and Ill probably start tomorrow with Donkey Kong. @mzero Im good with trying to play some of the same games at the same time, or each forging our own path. Im super excited to follow along with you, though. FYI I do not have the expansion pack at the moment. Ill obviously remedy that at some point.

wallmasterz posted...

@changmas do any titles come to mind for you that youd anticipate being a chore if you were trying to beat them all?

in addition to the absurdly hard ones you already mentioned, I think there's some stuff in there that has aged terribly to the point where it's not particularly fun anymore. For example, the original Star Fox on SNES. I tried playing that on the SNES Mini back when that came out around 2017 or 2018, and I found the controls maddening and the level design uninteresting.

I assume there's likely to be quite a few games like that, which were perhaps fun or even wildly innovative at the time that have since been eclipsed in every possible way such that they're nothing but a chore now without the nostalgia factor.

It's a cool idea though some are probably not going to be fun.

The original Star Fox is not fantastic but it's pretty easy. I beat it and Star Fox 2 when the latter was finally available.

Yeah I had no problems with Star Fox when I played it for the first time back in like 2020. Like it wasn't great but it also wasn't hard to play/beat.

Plus NSO has save states so you can basically brute force your way through anything on it if you're willing to use those.

It just occurred to me that I have the Japanese version of each app, so we don't have exactly the same games. I can just download the NA versions, so I'm considering taking it a step further and actually playing every NSO game, including the region exclusives.

Anyway, I'll probably just wing it in terms of order but try to line up when possible, so I'll probably dive into Donkey Kong tomorrow as well!

Unless you're terrible you can reasonable get through some of the games in absolutely no time. It's a lot less ambitious than trying to do something similar in more recent times.

This is a cool but very time consuming idea. I think youd get the most fun and variety out of playing them in a random order, but thats just a suggestion. Do whatever works best for you.

I miss what do you consider "beat"
Just beat the story/final boss, or actually 100% the game?
Like, random example - in Yoshi's Island, will you go for perfect score in every stage so you can unlock the extra levels and beat them too, or will you just consider it beaten after you beat 6-8?

WazzupGenius00 posted...

Ninja Gaiden isn't so bad, since it has unlimited continues. The final boss section is the only real sticking point due to how far back it sends you if you die.

This is nice to know. Ill definitely use continues. Ill probably still suck at Ninja Gaiden, though!

changmas posted...

For example, the original Star Fox on SNES
I assume there's likely to be quite a few games like that, which were perhaps fun or even wildly innovative at the time that have since been eclipsed in every possible way such that they're nothing but a chore now without the nostalgia factor.

Havent played the original Star Fox but youre probably right. I suppose if a game is such a chore its causing me to lose interest in the project altogether, I may allow myself to skip and come back to it later, but Id like to avoid that.

ctesjbuvf posted...

It's a cool idea though some are probably not going to be fun.

I agree with this. Fortunately this project itself will be fun for me overall, and if I stop having fun Ill tell myself to power through in hopes of getting more enjoyment from the next game. lol

Kenri posted...

Plus NSO has save states so you can basically brute force your way through anything on it if you're willing to use those.

General rule for me is I use save states to save my progress when Im done with a session, otherwise I try to avoid using them. I also pretend the rewind function doesnt exist, ha. Nothing wrong with folks using save states and rewind though, mzero might and if so thats great. If a game natively supports saving then thats a different story for me.

MZero posted...

It just occurred to me that I have the Japanese version of each app, so we don't have exactly the same games. I can just download the NA versions, so I'm considering taking it a step further and actually playing every NSO game, including the region exclusives.

Ah, thats so cool! I definitely think you should do this. Theres not that many more games if you add region exclusives, but it makes the accomplishment even more impressive. Go for it!

ctesjbuvf posted...

Unless you're terrible you can reasonable get through some of the games in absolutely no time. It's a lot less ambitious than trying to do something similar in more recent times.

Lets hope Im not terrible then, ha. What do you mean by doing something similar in more recent times? Do you mean opposed to some basically unattainable goal like beating every game for a modern console? And yes, I feel like this goal is still ambitious but its right on the cusp of reasonable? The hardest part would just be sticking with the project.

_Keeby posted...

This is a cool but very time consuming idea. I think youd get the most fun and variety out of playing them in a random order, but thats just a suggestion. Do whatever works best for you.

Thanks Keeby. Yeah, its going to be very time consuming. I anticipate it taking me 2-4 years if Im able to see it to completion. And Ill keep the random order suggestion in mind!

Nanis23 posted...

I miss what do you consider "beat"
Just beat the story/final boss, or actually 100% the game?
Like, random example - in Yoshi's Island, will you go for perfect score in every stage so you can unlock the extra levels and beat them too, or will you just consider it beaten after you beat 6-8?

This is tricky and will probably be decided on a game-by-game basis. Ideally Id like to 100% games when possible. Using Mario examples, Super Mario 64, Id like to get 120 stars. Yoshis Island, Id like to unlock and beat the extra levels. But in Super Mario World, Im not sure Id make myself collect every dragon coin. Whereas getting all 96 secret exits, yeah Id want to do that. I cant just say anything the game tracks, 100% because Lost Levels gives you a star for beating the game up to 24 times and Im not going to do that. Apparently Donkey Kong will end on a glitch after 130 loops, so theres a definitive endpoint in that sense, but that doesnt seem reasonable.

I think as general rules, but not etched in stone, Ill want to beat/collect everything the game tracks at minimum. In a game like Banjo-Kazooie Id get every Jiggy and Note but wouldnt necessarily worry about getting every Mumbo Token. If a game loops, Id hope to get through one loop at minimum. Technically unbeatable games with a lot of unique levels yeah, Im still thinking about that one.

The GBA version of Super Mario World does track the Dragon Coins

WazzupGenius00 posted...

The GBA version of Super Mario World does track the Dragon Coins

Then I will collect them all on that version :)

wallmasterz posted...

Lets hope Im not terrible then, ha. What do you mean by doing something similar in more recent times? Do you mean opposed to some basically unattainable goal like beating every game for a modern console? And yes, I feel like this goal is still ambitious but its right on the cusp of reasonable? The hardest part would just be sticking with the project.

I meant going through a similar amount of games on newer consoles yeah. It would be way too time consuming.

ctesjbuvf posted...

It's a cool idea though some are probably not going to be fun.

The original Star Fox is not fantastic but it's pretty easy. I beat it and Star Fox 2 when the latter was finally available.

Kenri posted...

Yeah I had no problems with Star Fox when I played it for the first time back in like 2020. Like it wasn't great but it also wasn't hard to play/beat.

Plus NSO has save states so you can basically brute force your way through anything on it if you're willing to use those.

hmm that may be true but i just wasn't having fun with it when i tried it! it's why i'm not cut out for a project like this because if I'm not enjoying something I'm simply not going to play it anymore, completionism be damned

wallmasterz posted...

Ah, thats so cool! I definitely think you should do this. Theres not that many more games if you add region exclusives, but it makes the accomplishment even more impressive. Go for it!

yeah, but there's like 3 Shin Megami Tensei games and a bunch of Fire Emblem so there's some pretty meaty games in there!

changmas posted...

hmm that may be true but i just wasn't having fun with it when i tried it! it's why i'm not cut out for a project like this because if I'm not enjoying something I'm simply not going to play it anymore, completionism be damned

Yeah I get that. I'm pretty sure I beat both on the go on some trip. Familiarity with the characters and world probably helped.

MZero posted...

yeah, but there's like 3 Shin Megami Tensei games and a bunch of Fire Emblem so there's some pretty meaty games in there!

Good point! They are not a small time commitment especially relative to some of the shorter games on NSO. Im going to focus on the NA catalog first of course but if I somehow finish this project, Id be interested in tackling the other titles. It would be so simple, other than not knowing Japanese and not being well versed in emulation :P

I kinda want to go check how many games available there I have played.

ctesjbuvf posted...

I kinda want to go check how many games available there I have played.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_Switch_Online_games

A handy reference

I was preparing a spreadsheet when I noticed a Double Dragon game on there, which made me think it would be sweet if we could link up for some co-op in some games!

MZero posted...

I was preparing a spreadsheet when I noticed a Double Dragon game on there, which made me think it would be sweet if we could link up for some co-op in some games!

Oh heck yeah, I am definitely be down for that. Unfortunately my opportunities to play are less common than Id like (its a battle to even get my work done daily) but even despite my limited availability and our time zone difference Im sure we can make it happen at some point.

I have never played a Double Dragon game. If we ever play co-op, Ill have to make sure Im not dragging you down too much, heh

Keep in mind only Double Dragon 2 actually has 2-player mode

wallmasterz posted...

Oh heck yeah, I am definitely be down for that. Unfortunately my opportunities to play are less common than Id like (its a battle to even get my work done daily) but even despite my limited availability and our time zone difference Im sure we can make it happen at some point.

I have never played a Double Dragon game. If we ever play co-op, Ill have to make sure Im not dragging you down too much, heh

Don't worry, I haven't played it since the 90's and beat em ups are not exactly my forte

Jakyl25 posted...

Keep in mind only Double Dragon 2 actually has 2-player mode

psh more like Single Dragon

Game #1 - Donkey Kong (Nintendo, 1986)

Donkey Kong has kidnapped Pauline, and it is up to Mario, the fearless carpenter, to come to her rescue. Throwing fate to the wind, Mario tries desperately to climb the labyrinth of structural beams from the top of which Donkey Kong taunts him. Help our hero ascend the metal structure by dodging an assortment of fireballs, steel beams, and exploding barrels the angry ape hurls at him. Prepare yourself for a never-ending adventure as Donkey Kong takes Pauline away to the next level every time Mario gets to the top. Based on the arcade game of the same name, this classic will keep hard-core and casual gamers entertained for hours.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single jump. No game seemed more fitting a start to my (and MZeros!) grand quest than this. To my knowledge it is the oldest game on NSO (well technically the original arcade version would be the oldest), the first appearance of Mario, the first appearance of Donkey Kong, and Nintendos first hit game. The original game was released in 1981, and this solid but slightly underwhelming port made it to the NES for North American gamers in 1986. Sadly, due to the limitations of the NES, the level 50m is missing here. A loop is already short enough as it is! If anyone is for some reason unaware, lets be clear: this is not the definitive version of Donkey Kong (1981). However, its still worth playing if its all youve got.

I was introduced to this game (and Jetpac lol) through Donkey Kong 64, and I suspect Im not the only one. I got DK64 for Christmas at age seven, and while I found Donkey Kong to be a bit challenging, particularly 75m with its bouncing jacks/pistons, I emerged victorious with a bit of practice.

Ive not revisited this game in years, but I still find it charming. Its a fun game, but the omission of 50m hurts since there were only four levels in the first place. I died quite a few embarrassing deaths, including trying to jump with a hammer (you cant), trying to walk from a platform to a moving elevator when they were roughly level (you cant), and walking into Donkey Kong (you can, but its not recommended).

Also, Im reminded I want to watch that documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Has anyone seen it, and what did you think?

I beat Game A and Game B. My high score was 20500 for A and 14700 for Game B. Play time: 23 minutes. For now, having completed a loop, Im content to call this beat and move on.

NES games beaten: 1/65
Total games beaten: 1/215
Total play time: 23 minutes

~~~~~~~~~~
But

May I suggest we embark on a friendly little competition? For games which track your high score, perhaps we can list the game and whoever holds the highest score. If theres interest, we should go for it and anyone whos following along with this thread can participate. Im fine with the honor system. Although I suspect if this gains traction, things may get a bit more competitive and proof may be requested ;)

I didnt even bother going for a high score, nor do I think Ill do so initially for each game, but I could see this being fun if Im stuck or tired of a particular game and need a quick break.

For example, for now this would read:

B8 NSO High Scores

Donkey Kong - 20500 (Wallz)
~~~~~~~~~~

Btw MZero, tentatively targeting Mario Bros. next. Apparently the game has 22 unique phases, so I may aim to make it to at least phase 23.

Its tied for the oldest game on NSO with Donkey Kong Jr if youre counting the actual versions on the service.

If youre counting the original DK arcade game, then there are Game & Watch games on the NSO GBC Game & Watch Gallery 3 that are older than Donkey Kong arcade

And yeah it was a lot more impressive as a 1983 Famicom launch game than as a 1986 import, lol.

The Famicom was created to play Donkey Kong in the same way the N64 was created to play Super Mario 64. Nintendo was embarrassed by the other home versions of DK they licensed out to other companies like Atari and Coleco and wanted a proper home showcase of their biggest hit. It was BY FAR the best home version of DK at the time.

wallmasterz posted...

Also, Im reminded I want to watch that documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Has anyone seen it, and what did you think?

I don't it's as incredible as people said it was, but it's still pretty great.

It becomes 1000% more interesting in hindsight after the Billy Mitchell cheating scandals came out though.

Do you time track your playtime by hand? Like with a stopwatch?

I don't I am particularly great at Donkey Kong, I suppose I could give it a try.

If there is any Space Invaders anywhere though!

Or if the Donkey Kong minigame in Nintendo Land, which is truly the best thing to be trapped on Wii U. Underrated gem.

MZero posted...

Do you time track your playtime by hand? Like with a stopwatch?

On the app menu where youd select a game, if you press x, it shows the game description for what is selected and your playtime. Not sure if this works the same for the Japanese version of the apps though.

Im definitely not that committed lol

wallmasterz posted...

On the app menu where youd select a game, if you press x, it shows the game description for what is selected and your playtime. Not sure if this works the same for the Japanese version of the apps though.

:O

Game #1 - Donkey Kong (Nintendo, 1986)

I don't think I've ever beaten this before. I've definitely played stage 1 (25m?) before but the other two didn't ring a bell. Man, gaming sure has come a long way! A lot of things are kind of annoying in 2023, like power ups and collectables not picking sometimes and Mario dying from falling like 2 feet. Still, it's short and sweet and relatively fun, considering its age. It was a monumental step forward for gaming, as not many games had a story line (even a very simple one) or multiple stages at the time. Truly a pioneer in the platforming genre, Nintendo's history, and gaming in general, and for that we should be thankful.

I don't have much else to say about it though. It's pretty straightforward. Clearing a barrel feels good though.

I also beat one loop of Game A and B, scoring 18,000 and 13,100, respectively. You win this round, wallz. I couldn't tell the difference so I looked it up, and apparently Game B is harder... which is ironic because it took me a bunch of tries to clear Game A and I knocked out B first try. I guess I got good at some point trying to get through A. I'm content at the moment but might try to beat wallz later.

NES games beaten: 1/65 (76)
Total games beaten: 1/215 (240)
Total play time: 25 minutes

I also couldnt tell the difference on Game A and B. Honestly for this project Im tempted to just ignore Game B/hard mode/second quest yada yada if theres no new level or boss because they are rarely interesting or different enough to warrant the time. I also feel the difference in difficulty is kinda negligible. Even in SMB, the second quest has buzzy beetles instead of goombas and smaller platforms but like it doesnt feel that different

Nice job MZero!

This game being so short has me wondering what the most time consuming game for this project will be

Tag, excited for the eventual opinions on Kid Chameleon.

wallmasterz posted...

This game being so short has me wondering what the most time consuming game for this project will be

Im thinking RPGs probably like Breath of Fire 1 and 2, or maybe Phantasy Star 4. Also shout out to Fire Emblem Blazing Blade which requires 3 playthroughs to beat the hardest mode, Hector Hard mode. (Now thats a game that could use an SP mode that lets you jump straight into that)

I guess Im also not sure if some obscure NES sports game or something has inane requirements to 100% complete it. Though if youre not doing kill screens, which makes total sense, then Id argue against doing something if its really dumb. Personally Id be more curious hearing about conventional playthroughs of games Ive barely heard of than 50 hours of NES Tennis or whatever.

Grand_Kirby posted...

It becomes 1000% more interesting in hindsight after the Billy Mitchell cheating scandals came out though.

The Billy Mitchell scandals elevate it to high art imo.

Maybe for the longer titles such as RPGs or games with a lot of collectibles (Donkey Kong 64) you could switch back-and-forth between two or three games. That way you wouldnt get burnout from being stuck on a lengthy game.

_Keeby posted...

Maybe for the longer titles such as RPGs or games with a lot of collectibles (Donkey Kong 64) you could switch back-and-forth between two or three games. That way you wouldnt get burnout from being stuck on a lengthy game.

Donkey Kong 64 was on Wii U VC but is not available via NSO, to my knowledge. I wouldnt be surprised to see it join the service before this project is done, unless theres some kind of licensing issue of which Im not aware. Banjo-Kazooie is on NSO so why not DK64?

Speaking of Donkey Kong, I will try to add the box art for each game because I think its a fun touch. Sorry this is a bit belated, DK.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/7/0/AARMM-AAEulK.jpg

Game B just starts 1 loop further.

pjbasis posted...

Game B just starts 1 loop further.

Thank you good sir!

So, Mario Bros is the extra life for getting 20k points the only one you can get? :( Or do you get another at 120k? I have made it as far as phase 15, and about 109k. From about phase 10 on, this game doesnt mess around.

Day 2 - greetings friends. I knew this quest would be filled with challenges, but Id hoped to ascend a bit higher up the mountain before reaching my first impasse. Today I started working towards my goal to clear an entire loop of Mario Bros. and was met with a rude awakening. It is decidedly more difficult than clearing a loop in Donkey Kong, which MZero and I both did twice in under 30 minutes. In Mario Bros., your traction is pretty bad (Mario skids a lot), and thats before icicles gets added to the equation. It seems the maximum lives you get is just three, although I really hope to be proven wrong here. I can get to phase 9 consistently without losing a life, but things ramp up from there. I have only gotten as far as phase 15 after 2 hours, 50 minutes. On the bright side, phase 18 will be a bonus level. This means after just one day of attempts, I can get two-thirds of the way there with some consistency. With practice, I hope to clear this game soon. Hopefully MZero fares better than myself.

Any Mario Bros. fans here? Has anyone cleared a whole loop?

I'm pretty much in the same boat. Played for about 2.5 hours and maxed out in the mid-teens (don't remember exactly)

This game could really use some checkpoints. It was fun at first but I'm so tired of playing phase 1. I can beat the first 8 phases in my sleep at this point

wallmasterz posted...

Any Mario Bros. fans here? Has anyone cleared a whole loop?

I never played it much in single player, but I've done that multiple times in 2-player with different friends in the past.