Once we got to the second screen of the intro to Ikari Warriors, I checked the length of the video and, yup it's a half hour longer than usual

Just for anyone hearing impaired, Jeff said "Yay".

Zang zip is on a fucking LIST

This Flintstones game is infamous for being the basis for Grand Dad, a bootleg that replaced Fred’s face with Mario’s and featured a bizarre recolor of Mario on the title screen.

I played the Die Hard game sooooo much as a kid. It was brutal, and while I did beat it, I don't know if I ever got the "true" ending. The game is fucked, and kinda hard, but it's also pretty cool because it follows the movie really closely. If you do certain things in certain ways that follow the movie, then it's scripted that way. Like if you let them recapture the detonators from you, then you gotta jump off the roof like in the movie. It's kinda crazy.

It is the 90's, and there is time for Klax!!!

Hell yeah gimme that Klax. Nothing says "the 90's" more than a game most people hadn't heard of at that time.

3.5 hour Ranking Of The NES? Truly an American celebration of freedom. 🎉

When he jumped out of the window in the Die Hard game, I laughed hard

The DOS version of Die Hard is a fever dream I remember from early 90's shareware discs. You should bring it up on your next casual stream because the opening ~ 90 seconds is a crazy experience, even compared to the NES version, but also still genuinely impressive given its 1989 release date.

I need to scour every piece of lore for Ralf and Clark in King of Fighters to see if Victory Road is actually canon. "Remember that time we defeated the bad guy in IK1 and then we got stuck in space?" I think the real explanation is that Ralf and Clark had a really wild victory party with illegal South American drugs.

Klax at Demonhead.

He ain't heavy. Zang Zip's my brother.

Micronics is such a confounding yet fascinating developer. Occasionally they’ll pull out an Elevator Action. And yet most of the time they do utter insanity like Ikari 1 and 2, Athena, 1942, and Ghosts and Goblins. They’re kinda unhinged and I love that.

33:40 I despise the bullet range when you shoot. I hate games where your bullets magically disappear after a few feet. Especially when the enemy bullets go off screen.

I was always curious about that Lone Ranger game. It looked pretty cool in magazines and for once that seems entirely deserved.

WARRIORS, SHOW SOME GUTS!!

Hey Jeff!

Okay, it took "Ranking the NES", and a 36 year wait, to get a proper translation for Ikari Warriors II's voice tracks. It's actually "Welcome!"?!!? What?! I've always thought it was saying, "Break Time!" It's been so long I'm not sure I can hear it any other way, so "Break Time!" is my own internal canon for this game now.

The science must continue.

Hell yes

one of these days i'm going to make it to a science session LIVE on Twitch instead of catching it on youtube

Die Hard was legitimately impressive. For a 1992 release it seems like it's too short and too janky in a lot of ways. But despite it not being fully fleshed out, it still kept surprising in unexpected fun ways. I'm going to have to give that one a look myself at some point. Regarding its weird graphics, I wonder how it will look on a TV via Composite. Probably a little better, at least.

The Hard

Hans! Bubby!

Every game needs a feet meter!

The gameplay is louder than Jeff. I love these videos but week after week the gameplay audio is just too loud. These are becoming borderline unwatchable for me. I guess its just me considering no one else ever mentions it.

BAHNEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY DELICIOUS FRUITY PEBBLES, PART OF A BALANCED BREAKFAST? AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE WHILE WEARING MY TIE? AND WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE WILMA? AND WHY ARE THERE FINGERNAIL SCRATCHES ON YOUR FACE AND NECK?

looking forward to when you get to the Magic of Scheherezade, I remember that being a really cool semi-action RPG. not sure if it will need an extended video for it but part of it is like zelda but it also has turn based battle dungeons

I didn’t know about this Die Hard game. I loved the ps1 trilogy game, played it so much!

$50 to see the doctor in 1880 equates to roughly $1,500 in 2024. Which… yeah I guess that checks out for US healthcare

"I like the idea of working the feet" -- Jeff Gerstmann, 2024

Anyone know if Jeff is using Shaders with RetroArch?

Congratulations to the Lone Ranger! Talk about a secret gem on the NES

Now fascinated by this Lone Ranger game. A lot of names I recognize on the MobyGames page. A lot of the team worked on the Famicom Goemon games and Ninja Turtles III.

When Zaza comes at you in his jumping jack stance you better be on your A-Game

Klax is a 90s STD

Jeff should have thrown the axe to hit the elevated snake.

heh heh.... flinstones nes..... heh... heh..... fred flinstone....

The petition for a Die Hard roguelike starts here.

That Die Hard N64 game has the wildest development history. It went from being an original IP, to a _Speed 2: Cruise Control_ license, to a _Die Hard_ license, then eventually became _Die Hard: Vendetta_ on the Gamecube. I remember _Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza_ on the PC was around the same time too, which was another absolute stinker. First-person has not been kind to the franchise.

Damn, The Lone Ranger was the Red Dead Redemption for NES.

Die Hard should have went higher.

Ikarinor Rigby

I want you to be my man.

The sound it makes when you hit the spikes in blob ball sounds just like when you die in IW2

2:17:10 Grandad

I think when the bosses show up he exclaims "Jesus Christ!" 😂

Hey, you do a pretty good Fred and Barney.

This series single-handedly has renewed my interest in playing NES games.

“Charmingly fucking awful” may be the best box quote of all time

Die Hard > Goonies 2

I would love to play Klax again, but sadly there was only time for it was the 90's....

Konami had another pretty good William Tell Overture rendition in one of the Parodius games.

I've got my Saturday morning treat, I'm ready to do my nails and watch some science for 3.5 hours

It's not very good but I kinda like Victory Road. It's got a neater aesthetic than generic 'military dudes in the jungles of nam' of the first, and being able to strafe makes it much better. Great music too, especially around 29:00

More games need a Stuff menu. Think of all the stuff you could put in a Stuff menu

Ikari Warriors 2, with names like Alexia Lomta, those weird character designs, bizarre and inscrutable UI choices, and overall vibes, really does give me a stronger Dark Souls vibe than just about any other NES game I can think of

Always had a huge soft spot for the flintstones nes game.

That Ikari Warrior intro is some "we need to draw this fucking shit out so people have to rent this again"-level stuff.

John McClane isn't wearing shoes. his feet should be quiet. Everyone else's feet should be loud

Here we see why brevity is a crucial part of communicating in Morse code.

I’m really into what the devs were trying to do with Die Hard. Limited bad guys, fog of war, shooting locks to open doors, crawling through air ducts, FOOT HEALTH. They really went for it.

3h30 of a video and, somehow, still only 5 games ranked. We'll be Ranking the NES for years and I'll be here for it!!

Die Hard 106? 😂😂😂 I wouldn't wish that game on my worst enemy.

2:17:08 don't think it don't say it don't think it don't say it don't think it don't say it don't think it don't say it

The joke about how some game looks like a fake game you see in a movie might be played out, but Ikari Warriors II specifically looks like a fake game from an Adult Swim show

LeBronz

Thumbnail goes fuckin HARD

it seems that the Lone Ranger video game was heavily based on GetsuFuumaDen, including its structure and gameplay.

Die Hard walked (with 0 feet) so that Hotline Miami could run

Forget all the shmup bullet hell games, Die Hard is the ultimate bullet hell game.

That Konami infused William Tell Overture (Lone Ranger theme song) is actually bumping. It's right up there with Konami's 8-bit rendition of Goonies 'R' Good Enough. The game looks much better than expected too. Didn't expect a Lone Ranger licensed game to rank so high. Also, Die Hard for the NES is really interesting. Not perfect, but the devs really tried to capture as much of the movie as possible. It's a really great adaption. I do like the character portraits and the lines of dialog that were taken right from the movie. the devs must have watched the VHS or laser disc release multiple times to get the source material right. I agree, Die Hard Arcade was pretty cool. Die Hard Trilogy was released in parallel with the original Die Hard Trilogy VHS box set. Die Hard Trilogy was a neat collection of games for the PS1. Klax is Klax. It was on everything.

1:23:10 Settling the debate once and for all, yes, this is a Christmas video game.

When I was a kid, I always thought people we're saying Morris code. That doesn't make much sense. Who's Morris!?

Die Hard: The Immersive Sim

BÜGSÜK ON THE ONES AND TWOS