Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library

Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library 1985-1995 is an expansive and thorough look at one of the greatest video game libraries of all time – the Nintendo Entertainment System. This 450-page book covers all licensed and unlicensed games released during the system’s lifespan and features information and reviews on hundreds of classic (and not so classic) 8-bit games.

This new 3rd print edition features the following updates:

– 60 Reviews Completely Rewritten

– Improved/Updated Screenshots for Dozens of Games

– Updated Game Info and Genre Classifications

– International Alternate Names and Formatting Changes

The NES had nearly 800 unique game cartridges released for it during its lifetime. While almost every video game fan has played or at least heard of the more famous titles, there were many, many games that weren’t as popular or well-known. This book features all of them, with detailed information such as the release date, developer, publisher, genre, availability, and more, as well as a review and rating for each title. There’s also a separate “Reflections” section for each game where the author of that review can expound upon the game more, comment on interesting aspects of the game, or even go off on a tangent about video game history, or muse about childhood memories or a humorous anecdote the game may have conjured up.

Book Sections

Foreword: graciously written by Blake Harris, author of the hit video game history/drama book Console Wars!

750+ North American game reviews and reflections
30+ PAL exclusive reviews
10 HES exclusive reviews
Test cart overview
Promo/special game carts
North American game cart variants
Popular NES controllers and accessories
Unreleased NES Game Examples
Supplemental Articles:
“Horror on the NES” by James Rolfe
“How the NES Zapper Works by Joey Desena
“In Their Words – The NES Launch” by Frank Cifaldi
“Color Dreams and Wisdom Tree” by Karen Niemla
“Tengen and the Nintendo Lawsuit” by Norm Caruso
“The Dragon Warrior Giveaway” by Pat Contri
“Nintendo’s Censorship Hypocrisy” by Pat Contri
“From Plastic to Pixels” by Dan Eardley
“Why Was Music So Good on the NES?” by Brent Black
“The Licensed Property NES Game Addiction” by Andre Meadows

Note: this book is not authorized or endorsed by Nintendo. All registered trademarks, game art, and game screenshots used are copyright their respective holders and are utilized here under Fair Use.