Back in the early days of YouTube, before subscriptions mattered, it was completely ad free and nobody made any money off it; users were in it for the love of the game. When James Rolfe created his “Angry Video Game Nerd” character (or “Angry Nintendo Nerd” for those who were there day one), he changed the way video reviews were done forever. He combined crass humour and skits, and would reminisce about NES and SNES games he grew up with, all while peppering off-colour euphemisms and hurling insults at some legitimate kusoge.
By now, everyone knows his schtick, as it has been endlessly ripped off and imitated, but as time went on, James never changed, while YouTube was never going to stay the same. The sad truth is that the system favours “clean” content. No matter how hard he tries, the AVGN isn’t going to be the same moving forward. James has essentially covered every bad game on the consoles he grew up with. What’s left for the Nerd to do? Having already been adapted into two decent retro-style platformers, how does this third entry with a new developer hold up?
The Angry Video Game Nerd: I & II Deluxe is a solid throwback-style action platformer that combines two games into one super game. It does everything a fan of James Rolfe’s work would hope for: amusing sight-gags, references to past episodes, and stimulating gameplay. It featured multiple playable characters, art designed by Mike Matei (Rolfe’s frequent collaborator), an amazing soundtrack, and was packed with challenging gameplay, even if much of it felt unfair.
When Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit begins, it seems promising. The story frames the game like an episode, featuring original footage shot, written, and acted by James Rolfe, as he performs a Satanic ritual to forge the most unholy and evil game of all time so he can exorcise his NES, which has been possessed by a belligerent Super Mecha Death Christ. It’s a fun introduction that sets the perfect tone, although it is noticeable how much Rolfe has aged, looking bloated, bald, and tired. There’s a wave of sadness overshadowing the experience after seeing a man desperately cling to a thing he did about a quarter of a century ago.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit is a garden-variety Mega Man clone, lacking any weapons earned from defeated bosses or an inventive rock, paper, scissors mechanic in battle. The main gimmick of it is being a true 8-bit game, yet it fails to impress when it’s lacking compared to legitimate Nintendo Entertainment System releases. The Nerd has only his zapper as the main weapon, and has a backwards upgrade system where he needs to grab power-ups, but also levels down when he gets hit.
The idea is to train players to play carefully to keep their gun upgrades, but all it does is make things easier for already skilled gamers. With the deliberate obnoxiously placed enemies and traps, expect to spend most of the time with the gun power at zero. Sub weapons are too far and few between to be useful, and apart from the Molotov cocktails, they may as well not exist.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit’s strength is its theming and visual design. The adherence to the signature 8-bit colour palette of the Nintendo Entertainment System makes the visuals hit different. The aspect ratio is presented as 4:3, resembling the classic field of view that gamers experienced on old CRT displays and providing the screen with a tighter, more immersive feel.
The designs and concepts of the enemies draw from classic episodes, and the bosses are bizarre combinations of various references, one of which is a mix of the Technodrome from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the head of Uncle Fester from Fester’s Quest. These kinds of clever amalgamations make it easier to skirt copyright while coming up with something funny.
As brutal as some of the stages can be due to the cheap design, the bosses are shockingly easy. Most of the time, they have very predictable patterns and are slow moving. The only problem is they tend to guard their weak point and are hard to hit because the Nerd can only shoot what’s in front of him. This makes the battle with the Top Gun fighter jet the hardest and most drawn out since it’s a horizontal shooting stage where the Nerd can’t fire up, down, or behind him. It’s only difficult because of the tedium and patience required to wait till there’s an opening. Most of the game feels like this. Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit is nowhere near as interesting as it could be. Without the Nerd paint on it, there is nothing special or unique about it.
