Good day, dear readers! It’s time for the third part of my story about board games released based on one or another video game series (parts one and two). In today’s part, Nintendo will completely dominate. I think I won’t be lying if I say that anyone who is even a little interested in video games knows about this company and its main titles. Well, at least everyone has definitely heard about Mario.
So, it turns out that Nintendo, like no other video game company, is steadily promoting board games in its game series. Why did she start doing this not yesterday or last year, but 33 years ago?. During this time, more than 30 board games were released, the vast majority of which are dedicated to Mario and Pokemon. Today I’ll tell you about all this diversity.
Nintendo
Nintendo started making video games in 1981. If you, padawan reader, too young, then you may not know that in that distant year the very first Donkey Kong was released – a game about a mustachioed plumber (yes, Mario first appeared here, although his official release happened only 2 years later), who saved the lady of his heart from a maddened giant monkey. The franchise is still alive and periodically kicks somewhere in the Wii U area. Only now the main character is not Mario, but Donkey Kong himself. Well, that’s right, and why does Mario need another series about him??
Then in 1982, Nintendo released the game Popeye based on the animated series of the same name about Popeye the Sailor – a stern man with hypertrophied forearms and a passion for punching cabbage soup after a serving of spinach (here it is, the power of vegetarianism!). And in 1983 (or in 1985 – as it is easier for you to count) the era of Mario began with his Mario Bros. (Super Mario Bros.) – a mustachioed plumber who has been saving his princess in another castle for almost 30-odd years, killing poor turtles and taking mushrooms and other interesting things for his soul.
Then, in 1986, The Legend of Zelda appeared – still a favorite series by many about the adventures of Link behind the triforce and its numerous prequels. Then there was a lot more: Metroid, Ice Climber, Kirby and so on. But this is not particularly important in the context of this article. The only important thing is that in 1996 the great Pokémon series appeared, from which children, as well as their parents, are delighted (para-para-pam!) around the world. A series where the player, like a real Tamagotchivod, needs to raise his animals (which initially still need to be caught), lead them through fire and water (figuratively and literally speaking), and then defeat other weakling trainers with his mini-army of mi-mi-mi creatures.
“Why such an introduction??” you ask. And I will answer: the tabletop space was visited by Donkey Kong, Popeye the Sailor, Link and his Zelda, Mario and Luigi and, of course, Pokemon. This is what we will talk about further. And, since the younger generation has a weak memory of Popeye and Donkey Kong, I’ll start, perhaps, from the well-known end, with Pokemon.
Pokémon
So Pokémon! This series originated in 1996 on the Game Boy handheld console and immediately gained such enormous popularity that Japan was filled with all kinds of merchandise, anime series, manga and other accompanying things. I note that the Pokemon series is considered the second most popular video game series after Mario. As you can guess, this series has not spared board games – the total number of board games exceeds two dozen (though more than half are outright garbage). But I’ll tell you about those that are good later.
Pokémon Trading Card Game
The very first (1997), and probably the most famous board game (and simply one of the most popular CCGs in the world) is Pokémon TCG – a card game about battles between two trainers. When some of us were still sitting in the sandbox, others were going to school, and Pokemon were shown on the First, you were probably looking for someone with whom to exchange your five “Pokémon_name_No. 1” for the more desirable “Pokémon_name_No. 2”.The goal of the game is simple, like any CCG – to defeat your opponent. We play our pets on the table, use their attacks, evolve them. As far as I know, Pokémon TCG has recently been gaining popularity again in Russia. Therefore, if you haven’t tried it yet or you didn’t have enough of this entertainment ten years ago, or you were a child (and didn’t understand why you needed these cards) – go ahead, run to the board game store and thematic sites.
Pokémon Trading Figure Game
Like the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, which had its own adaptation for miniatures (World of Warcraft Miniatures Game), the Pokémon Trading Card Game received its own version of the game with miniatures in 2006. The idea of the game and the way it was sold in stores is similar to analogues – we buy boosters with well-known and not so famous creatures, form a team for a certain number, and then fight on a special field 1 on 1 with the enemy. The interesting thing about the game is that in addition to choosing monsters, before the game you had to choose a specific trainer for yourself, which promised certain pros and cons. Yes, unfortunately, Pokémon TFG did not repeat the success of its card counterpart, so it sank into oblivion in just a couple of years.
Pokémon Battling Coin Game
The next game (1998), as expected, is again about the battles of Pokemon trainers. This game is very different from the previous one for a number of reasons. First of all, there are no cards here. Each set includes three discs with random Pokemon. Battling Coin has such a strange distribution method, since the publisher positions it as a collectible. If you put such a disk on the table with the picture with the monster facing up, then it (the disk) can be easily spun like a spinning top. The gameplay is based on such manipulation. You and your opponent place your two discs side by side and spin. As soon as the discs stop, the opponents compare the icons and numbers on the sides where the discs are close to each other. Whoever has the higher number wins, and the opponent goes to his forefathers. Such a simple, fast and non-committal toy for 5 minutes (although why am I surprised – after all, Pokemon is a children’s franchise, and children need such a game).
Pokémon Master Trainer, Pokémon Silph Co., Pokémon Tower and Pokémon S.S. Anne Game
There are four games at this point. Although, actually two, since Silph Co., Tower and S.S. Anne Game is the same game, just with a different playing field. What are all these games about?? These are simple adventure games about collecting Pokemon, leveling them up and battles between trainers. The first game (Master trainer) uses the territory of the very first Pokemon video game as its setting (this is exactly where the events of the anime series took place). The other three (Silph Co. and its clone) take place in small locations (for example, a ship and a tower). They offer to assemble the gaming space yourself by tinkering with scissors, glue and pieces of cardboard that are in the box with the game. After that, the whole game you have to roll the dice, see what comes up, and move forward as many steps. (Well, yes, everyone played games like “throw and move” in childhood). At the stop you either fight with the master or buy a new Pokemon.
This is all, of course, great and generally all fun and Pokemon, but for those unfortunate people like me who once played real board games like Gears of War or Civilization: the Board Game, such games are no longer any good.
UNO: Pokémon
The last Pokemon game I’ll talk about is a remake of Uno, with Pokemon instead of numbers. Regular Uno is the same “one hundred and one”, or “pharaoh”. If you want details, they are here:
In case anyone doesn’t know what kind of games these are, I’ll explain in a nutshell. Players have a certain number of cards in their hands that they need to get rid of faster than their opponents. You need to get rid of them according to certain rules. For example, let there be Pikachu on the table against a red background. Then the next player can place Pikachu on a different background or another Pokemon on a red background. There are also joker Pokemon, skip-turn Pokemon, “next player draws 2 cards” Pokemon, etc. If there are no suitable Pokemon in your hand, you will have to take the top one from the general deck. Overall, a very simple game to play with a small group.
What can I say about this? I wouldn’t mind playing Uno with Pokemon, even though I’m used to more serious games..
UNO: Nintendo
There is another version of Uno, with all the Nintendo heroes at once. As they say – the same eggs, only in profile. So, if you are a special kind of plumber, then UNO: Nintendo is your choice!
With that, I move on to Mario. To be honest, there are other Pokemon games, but they’re not very good. Let’s go look for the princess.
Super Mario Bros. https://coincasino-pro.co.uk
The most popular game series in the world, which tells the story of the adventures of the mustachioed plumber Mario, who tirelessly saves the princess in the kingdom of big mushrooms, strange turtles and brick platforms over and over again. There are also quite a lot of board games about the funny barbel – almost two dozen, but I will tell you only about half of them: the better half!
Super Mario Bros. (1988) and Super Mario Bros. (1992)
The first two Mario games tried to be like their video game progenitor. They were simple tabletop adventure games. Yes, in 2015 this won’t surprise anyone, but in the late 80s – early 90s, action games and “monopolies” were at the peak of their popularity. True, here the game of the “throw and move” type is supplemented by the ability to set traps for the opponent along the way. So the path to the castle is not so easy now. It can be very disappointing when you find yourself at the finish line and get blown up by an enemy fireball! And the princess may end up in another castle!
I’ll also note this, SMB. 88 was developed by the German MB Siele, which also released board games based on Donkey Kong and Popeye the Sailor Man. Their version is interesting because the playing field itself is made in the surroundings of the original video game.
Super Mario Bros. Card Game
Card Super Mario Bros. Card Game was released simultaneously with SMB. 92 years old and, in my opinion, she is much more interesting. The gameplay is very simple, but there is something to think about. The essence of the game is this: there is a deck of cards, which before the start of the game is divided into 6 equal parts, and players take turns drawing one card from any part, in the hope of finding a few coins. The one who collects a certain number before his rivals gets rich and wins. This simple gameplay is diluted, again, by the addition of traps (it’s a trap!), forcing you to return part of the loot to the bottom of one of the decks along with a trap. Therefore, after some time after the start of the game, the brain may naturally boil when trying to remember in which place and in which deck the evil trap lies, so as not to fall into it (especially when you are incredibly close to victory).
Super Smash Bros. Melee Battle Cards
The next game about Mario is interesting because it never hit the shelves, but was distributed for free in one of the issues of Official Nintendo Magazine. The gameplay of this game is based on the well-known game “rock-paper-scissors”. Each round, players take turns choosing 5 characters from a common deck and a random arena with a bonus for some of the heroes. (Yes, the characters there are not only from the Mario series, but also from other popular Nintendo titles such as the previously mentioned Pokemon or the heroes of the game Ice Climber). So, each hero has three different moves, each of which works like “rock”, “scissors” or “paper”. Actually, every turn players play one hero into the arena and see which of them wins in a game of rock-paper-scissors. The winner returns to the owner’s hand and the loser is eliminated. The player who has the most characters left at the end wins. Such things. I think the readers of Official Nintendo Magazine were happy about this game.
Super Mario Bros. Great Ladder Race Game, Super Mario Bros. Crystal Maze and Super Mario Bros. GuraGura Game
The next three games are not even board games in the usual sense of the word. These are more likely just children’s toys. The very first (Ladder Race Game) consisted of two rotating ladders fixed at a low height. The goal of the game was to bring Mario or Luigi down the stairs faster than the opponent by rotating the stairs by the handle. The action figures have a ball joint in the center and two hooks to hang on to the ladder. Quite an unusual idea, in my opinion, the game should be quite fun. Another thing is that I have never seen such units in my life, and curiosity gnaws.
Next game (Crystal Maze) – maze toy. Here your goal is to guide Mario through the maze and collect four flags, and then defeat Bowser (this is the same evil turtle from SMB.) in the center of the maze. The key feature is that it is completely mechanical and there are no electronics in it, and all control is carried out using a joystick. In general – it’s cool. If I were 7 years old now, I would love to play Crystal Maze.
SMB. GuraGura Game is somewhat simpler in this sense, but it is also quite suitable for games with children. This is a simple game of reaction and accuracy/dexterity/what else do they write on game boxes?. There are two game modes. In the first one you need to display figures of characters from the SMB series. for a small prefabricated tower. Yes, so that it does not fall apart in the process. In the second mode, like in real Angry Birds, shoot figures at the target from a special slingshot cup. Again, if I were 5-7 years old, I would play with pleasure.
Monopoly: Nintendo (2006) and Monopoly: Nintendo Collectors Edition (2011)
Yiiiiiiiii… traditional Monopoly! Where would we be without her, my dear?. I think she needs no introduction for the third time. For those who want to know more about it, read the first part. And I’ll tell the rest of you once again this: I still don’t understand who plays Monopoly and why. Even if you can play as Mario there…
Memory Challenge: Super Mario Edition
The penultimate Mario game that I will talk about, like UNO: Pokémon, is based on another game. And, as you might guess, the basis is called Memory Challenge. I think many people played this game in childhood: we turn over two cards every turn, if they are the same, we take them for ourselves, if they are different, we put them in place. Whoever collects the most cards is the winner. The only thing is that there is something in it that can diversify the game a little and make it more tactical. These are item cards that are mixed with character cards. By collecting pairs of them, you can get some kind of bonus (for example, take away some cards from your opponent). In general, children usually play this game to train their memory. Therefore, if you suddenly, for no reason at all, want to feel like a six-year-old child, play for your health.
Memory Challenge: Sonic the Hedgehog Edition
I’ll immediately mention that Sonic (whose monopoly I mentioned in the first part) also faced the Memory Challenge. I just want to say: “Poor Sonic… Oh god, why?”. But I’ll tell you in detail about Sonic sometime next time.
Super Mario Balance Block
And finally, let’s look at another skill game and, at the same time, a variation on the theme of the famous game Jenga. The original Jenga from 1983 is a very simple game, but quite entertaining and requires enviable dexterity and ingenuity from the player. The gameplay of the game is very simple. There is a tower, which is made up of wooden blocks before the start of the game, three pieces at each level of the tower. On his turn, the player has the right to pull 1 block from the structure and move it to the top of the tower. The one who collapses the tower on his turn, pulling out the block, will lose. As I said earlier, I’m not particularly fond of games of this format (that is, dexterity), but many people really like it, and you can get special fun from the game if you play it with a time limit per move (like blitz in chess). So, Balance Block is Jenga, where wooden blocks are painted to resemble brick blocks and treasure blocks from SMB, so fans of the mustache Mario will be quite happy with this. However, there is one small problem: it is very, very difficult to get it outside of Japan.
Jenga: Donkey Kong Collector’s Edition
But Jenga in a Donkey Kong wrapper is much easier to get (at least it’s not in Japanese). In this game (unlike Jenga based on Mario) there are two different modes: a regular Jenga mode and a race mode for Donkey Kong, as in the ancient original, to the top of the tower in the skin of old Mario. Here, after each block installed by the player, you need to move your Mario around the tower in a certain way in the hope of overthrowing the evil monkey and not getting into trouble or into a trap. Art of the original 1981 is present.
Jenga: Space Invaders Collector’s Edition
Since we are talking about various Jengas, I will mention that in 2013 a variation of this game was released, wrapped in Space Invaders. This, by the way, is the only full-fledged SI board (not counting the various crafts of enthusiasts, of which there are a million on the Internet). As in the case of DK, the game offered two modes: regular Jenga with repainted blocks and a mode where you need to lower your Invader from the top of the tower in order to punish the people (Mwahahaha!). In general, it is no different from the previous one, so if you are not a fan of such entertainment (like me, for example), you can safely forget about the existence of this board.
Donkey Kong
And I will continue to talk about games in which Donkey Kong is present. What is Donkey Kong and what do you eat it with?? Donkey Kong is the very first platformer from Nintendo, released in arcades in 1981. Here, an as yet unnamed mustachioed guy (a carpenter, by the way) needs to climb a series of platforms using ladders and high jumps, dodging rolling barrels and flying fireballs, in order to topple a giant monkey at the top and take his girlfriend out of her hands (The allusion to King Kong in the title is not in vain). In addition to the Jenga I have already mentioned, there are only two games in the recreation center, about which further.
Donkey Kong
So, in the wake of the popularity of the Donkey Kong game in slot machines (seriously, in 1981 it was a very popular game, although you may not have heard of it at all), the MB Spiele company in 1982 released a board game based on. (This, by the way, was their first work with Nintendo, and I wrote about their Mario game above.) Available: a playing field (as in the game), Donkey Kong (as in the game), a certain mustachioed man Mario in pants of four colors (as in the game)…. And in general everything is like in the game. There is your Mario and your opponents’ Mario, and whoever reaches the top of the platform structure faster and without incident and defeats the evil giant monkey will be declared the winner and will receive the lady in distress as a reward. Here it is worth giving credit to MB Spiele – they tried to transfer the gameplay to the table with virtually no changes. The only difference was that Mario, of course, was not controlled using a joystick, but according to the “throw and move” principle I have already described. Each player also had a set of cards that, during their turn, could be played on the table for character jumps or launching fireballs and barrels in order to mess up opponents. I note that after launch, the barrels and fireballs moved around the map at the command of the dice, so you could get into trouble yourself if you were unlucky with the dice.
Donkey Kong Card Game
Next, in 1983, the same MB Spiele released a now card game based on Donkey Kong based on the same game. The goal remains the same: get to Donkey Kong, sitting on top of a high platform, faster than your rivals, in order to save the girl Kong stole. But in this game, in order to get to the villain, you had to build a ladder of cards on the table and move your version of Mario along the resulting structure. The same cube moves him where he would go without him… On the staircase maps, various indecent things could happen to the hero, so you had to think carefully about how to form the easiest path up for yourself and a path full of traps for your opponent.
In 1982, Nintendo released the video game Popeye based on the American comic book and animated series of the same name. In general, the plot of the game was as simple as the plot of the animated series. There, the sailor Popeye, whom his rival Brutus always tried to thwart, tried to win the love of a girl named Olive Oyl. In a critical situation, Popeye ate a piece of spinach. The amazing herb repeatedly increased the hero’s strength, so that Brutus got it to his ears. In the video game (which was a platformer in genre), to complete the level you had to collect a certain number of hearts and not allow yourself to be caught by the villain Brutus. However, if spinach appeared in a level, it could be eaten and attacked by Brutus, which removed the player from his presence in the level for some time. By the way, initially the first Donkey Kong game was supposed to be dedicated to Popeye, but due to Nintendo’s problems with licensing the product, Popeye had to wait a little.
In the first board game about Popeye the sailor, players need to collect hearts and escape from Brutus, just like in the video game. By the way, different players played for Brutus and Popeye. The playing field was a copy of a level from a video game, and the gameplay was very similar to the tabletop Donkey Kong: moving around the field using a dice (“throw-and-drop”), collecting hearts and eating spinach, playing cards from your hand to the table to activate various tricks and bonuses, and skirmishes between Brutus and Popeye.
Popeye Card Game
The Popeye card game was much simpler. Or rather, she looked like… A drunkard. If you suddenly forgot about what kind of game this is, read in the second part, but I have nothing more to say.
The Legend of Zelda
And finally there is The Legend of Zelda. Such a significant Nintendo franchise as LoZ (judging by Nintendo’s love for board games based on its games) could not do without tabletop gaming. In addition to, cough, cough, Monopoly, in the bearded eighties, two entertaining games based on the original Zelda were released, which I’ll tell you about. If you don’t know what the first The Legend of Zelda is, I’ll explain it this way: in order to get something at least a little close to the original, take The Binding of Isaac, take Edmund McMillen out of it, add a little goodness, fantasy and the triforce. In fact, LoZ is a hardcore action puzzle game where you need to travel through a world divided into rooms, solving small puzzles to kill enemies before they kill you.
The Legend of Zelda: The Hyrule Fantasy
And in 1986, almost simultaneously with the video game, a board game about the Legend of Zelda was released. Bandai released it only in Japan, so don’t even look for it in other languages. The game is interesting primarily because it tries, again, to be as close to the original as possible (as much as possible for a board game). There is a hefty map divided into locations. You can beat monsters by rolling dice, collect coins, buy gear with them and hunt for pieces of the Triforce. There is also a co-op for four different colored Links… By the way, the game, like the original, is quite hardcore, since you can die there very quickly, and it takes quite a lot of time to complete.
The Legend of Zelda
Unlike its Japanese counterpart, the American version of LoZ 1988 from MB Spiele, already known to you, is a frankly weak “throw and move” adventure game with battles of the “test your luck” variety (roll the dice and hope that you get lucky). It’s really, really weak: the game looks unattractive, and there’s too much randomness, even compared to previous creations by MB Spiele. Perhaps that is why Zelda did not receive other incarnations on the table. (Sorry, I don’t consider Monopoly an “embodiment”. Monopoly defenders can vent their anger in the comments or mail me a postcard challenging me to a duel.)
Well, congratulations to everyone who made it through the text to the last paragraph! Now you can consider yourself a Nintendo board game connoisseur. True, you are unlikely to be able to play all these games: most of them are quite old and Japanese. (If you are the happy owner of any such desktop, write in the comments – I was interested in knowing your impressions.) And here are the themed Jengas, Monopolies and Uno are more accessible and can serve, for example, as a good gift for a fan of the series.