Nintendo has been around for a long time spanning over three centuries from the late 1800’s to present. Though it originally started out as a playing card manufacturing company (Hanafuda Cards), it is now largely known for its impact in the videogame market from the late 70’s to today. With popular games like Super Mario Bros, The Legend Of Zelda, Donkey Kong and Metroid, Nintendo owned the market and brought videogames back to life after the market was about to crash completely.
During it’s time of Videogame Development, Nintendo have created many games, including the ones I have listed above and all possess an iconic hero. Some have stood the test of time and remained triumphant, that they are still rescuing princesses and saving worlds to this day, other have not faired so well and have instead had to pass the baton onto another aspiring hero, hoping to fill the boots of their ancestor whilst making a name of their own. This post is about those heroes. Mario is still Mario, Link is still Link but whatever happened to Little Mac from Punch-Out! or Arthur from Ghouls & Ghosts? Though they have all but disappeared from the annals of gaming history or make an occassional cameo in other games. We shall be looking into those that have handed the gauntlet onto the next generation of Videogame heroes.
Arthur- Ghosts N Goblins & Ghouls N Ghosts
During the 80’s there was a Knight called Arthur who put it upon himself to battle hordes of the undead and rescue the Princess (Prin-Prin) from an evil demon king, Astaroth. It was a typical side scrolling platformer in which the character had to collect better armour and weapons to stand a better chance at fighting of the undead hordes. Ghosts N Goblins spawned numurous sequels and had a reputation for extremely difficult gameplay. In the sequel Ghouls N Ghosts, Arthur must restore all the townspeople and the princess back to life by defating Lucifer.
However this is not too disimilar from another armour wearing hero that many know and love today. rather than wielding a sword or spear, this new hero wields a digging implement and is known as Shovel Knight. Shovel Knight, created by Yacht Club Games, is a knight who has lost his love, Shield Knight and hopes that by defeating the Enchantress, he can regain his lost love. Set in the style of the retro 8-bit sidescroller, Shovel Knight does well to uphold the Knight’s code and carry the gauntlet that was bore by Arthur in Ghosts N Goblins.
Mega Man
This Blue Suited Android has being screwing up Dr. Wily’s evil plans for years. By defeating different bosses in the Megaman Series, Megaman is able to possess their skills and powers to defeat the enemy boss that succeeds them. Megaman has built up quite a number of games for himself but now he has had his legacy recycled more times than can be counted on two hand for every new generation of console by means of remakes and remasters.
All was not lost as there was another contender hoping to pick up where Megaman left off and though the promises were high, it failed to deliver the essence that made Megaman games what they were. Designed by Comcept, Mighty No. 9 left many Mega Man fans thouroughly disappointed and with a very bad taste in the mouths of those that help fund the development via Kickstarter. The game was released but was broken with more bugs than can be found in a standard garden. It is a shame that a Legacy such as Mega Man’s has come to this but their is still hope on the horizon in the form of Azure Striker Gunvolt.
That is all for this post, be sure to keep an eye out for part two of this series where I will be talking about Metroid & Punch-Out! Thank you for reading and please be sure to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!
Until Next Time, Keep On Gaming!
