Round 1: Clash at Demonhead

Clash at Demonhead NES ROM (147.5 Kb)

The first game we'll be playing is Vic Tokai's 1990 NES game Clash at Demonhead. It basically plays like Mega Man. You are Bang, a secret agent who is enjoying some Speedo time on the beach when you get called in. Professor Plum had grown tired of all the accusations. He has never been in any conservatory, and since that Ultimate Frisbee mishap in college, is not able to wield a Lead Pipe well enough to kill a man. So he built a Doomsday Bomb. Might as well do the crime if you have to do the time. But he's kidnapped by Tom Guycot. You have to find the medallions that disable the bomb among Mark Dudebed's governors. I imagine the honor of being chosen to be an evil governor is somewhat dampened by the realization that your boss is planning to detonate a Doomsday Bomb. I certainly wouldn't tell the election volunteers. They worked so hard. You will meet a magic hermit who will give you the ability to become super-tiny, or have invincible karate. There is a shopkeeper who offers his little daughter to you. It's pretty gloriously Japanese.
I rented the hell out of this game when it came out. It's just fun to play. It's quirky, difficult without being particularly Nintendo Hard. Sometimes it's pretty hard to tell where you're supposed to be going, but I kinda prefer that to today's hand-holding in games ("Hey! Listen!"). Also, the evil band in Scott Pilgrim is named after this game, and if you don't love Scott Pilgrim, then you just don't love.