Retro Games Top 5 - Part 13 - NES Accessories (Nintendo Entertainment System Accessories)

As with any games console there are going to be accessories, and for the most part, to improve the gameplay or to immerse yourself in further. When you combine Nintendo and 80's together, there is no shortage of these accessories. So here is my top 5 that I have found after some digging.

5 – NES ZaPPer;- Why they just didn't bite the bullet and call it a gun I will never know, but the Zapper was a ''light gun'' that only really worked with old CRT TV's, I've tried it on an LED screen and it does not work. The most popular game this worked with was Duck hunt, but also worked with titles such as Freedom Force, Barker Bill's and Gumshoe to name a few. Not the most impressive accessory, as other consoles had there version, but still cool all the same.

4 – Advantage Controller;- When the NES first came out, Arcade games were huge, especially in the Eastern Market. And for those people that loved the feel of the Arcade style controls, they could now have them at home with the ''huge'' Game pad. It came with turbo buttons for both 'A' and 'B' buttons, which were both adjustable. It also has a slo-mo button to slow down fast paced games, but didn't work on every game though. And on the other side you had a traditional arcade style directional stick that you could hammer away on all day every day.

3 – Power Pad;- Most modern Consoles today will have a fitness angle to it, Xbox had the Konnect, Wii had the fit board and play station has the glow stick/ball of doom. But in the 80's NES released the power pad as a fun way for families to get fit. Surprisingly, it sold well and it had a fair few games that was compatible with it. And this was a full decade before the Nintendo piss came out... sorry, Wii.

2 – NES Satellite;- Today, Multiplayer is to be expected with any new game that is released and we would be disappointed if less than 10-20 people play it at the same time as you. But back in the late 80's, the NES satellite is wireless and would allow up to 4 players hooked into one console, so you would invite 3 of your mates round and another to be a brew bitch and get playing titles like bomber man, Nintendo world cup, Kings of the beach, Bowling or rocket rivals..... yeah, not many games supported 4 players but at least you could make a lot of noise pissing your parents off doing it though.

1 – NES Double Player;- Just as most modern game consoles come as standard with a wireless pad, in the late 80's early 90's having a wireless anything was voodoo but to be able to buy 2 wireless pads for the NES was sheer myth and witchcraft. But the controllers were actually very good, they had a range of 30 feet, included turbo and slow motion and worked with any 2 player games. As a British man once said, they are the tits you want. …. it was me.... I said that.... when I was 18...

So there you have it, the best of the bunch as the majority of the accessories you could get for the NES were... well... shit. And I shall do a top 5 worst nes accessories in a future post.

Thanks for reading

Stu @TechMojo

Images...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NES_Zapper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NES_Advantage
http://games.neonstreetlight.com/nes/powerpad/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NES_Satellite
http://www.astrogiochi.com/en/retrogames/nintendo/nes/nes-double-player-wireless-detail.html