There’s no doubt that through a variety of different avenues retro games, specifically ones for the NES era, have been having their moment this console generation. What has been particularly interesting is seeing what’s essentially new NES development taking place, with developers working within the confines of that console to concoct modern games of various kinds. Some will cheat a little here or there to add some modern nods or conveniences, but others have tended to try to stay more pure in their efforts.

Both titles in this collection feel more in line with classic purity, though at least trying to inject a fair amount of humor. The mechanics of gameplay are pretty basic and reminiscent of titles from that time, but in general I’d say there were others in that time that showed more depth and ambition than this. The first is more of a traditional hero’s side-scrolling adventure, while the second has more puzzle-like elements where you’ll need to switch between members of your team to utilize their special skills in order to progress.

Though I do appreciate the overall attempt to motivate you to keep pushing forward with quirky moments and some fun dialogue, having played quite a number of titles of this kind I had a hard time not feeling a bit let down. Rather than emulating classic elements and beats, but then working to try to elevate and surprise gamers, this falls a bit more flat and would likely struggle to surpass a variety of games legitimately from that era. If you’re nostalgic for those times this may have enough value added bits to be of interest, but there are options already out there that are more engaging.