"Wheel of Fortune Family Edition" (NES)

This release makes the game fun for the whole family. Interesting music at the beginning of the game, sounding like something from an action-adventure game.

Bring the whole family aboard because this is the family edition of Wheel of Fortune! If the "adult" version (*ahem*) and/or the junior version didn't cut it for you, here's a "friendly" version that's fun for the whole family! Because video game box covers for the NES never showed off any indication whether a title has earned the "million-seller" badge, compared to Game Boy games, I'm sure the folks at GameTek thought another new edition could entice more [casual] gamers. I'm not sure of the reactions but as a TV game show junkie myself, it's certainly one of my favorite TV shows. (I'd repeatedly say the same if there were an NES release for The Price Is Right.)



Now, yes, this is the edition I played during my youth. Comparing my feelings as a kid all the way today, not much has changed. Believing that music is the soundtrack of our lives, what is up with the musical arrangements for this game? Instead of an RPG, the intro track and the background track, used to enter your player information, sound like perfect tracks for a Mega Man game. Action game soundtracks don't fit with a game show-themed game. Perhaps GameTek were aiming for a high-energy game show game, and for an NES game back in 1990, that's quite an ambitious task. No harm in trying, of course. The mismatching of this combination used to freak me out as a kid that I would lower the TV volume every time I'd play this game; I'm absolutely serious.

The background colors for the puzzle floor and the wheel have changed, but other than that, it still remains the same. Reminds me of today's game companies that release sports games: release one version, update player stats and rosters, and re-released it as a new game the following year. The puzzles are quite challenging but not too bad; You may even learn of a few popular folks you've never heard of, cities you didn't knew existed and cool phrases that quote creators possibly have never composed and spread throughout the Internet. Programmers have spelled "Pictures" correctly and the difficulty level are in tact so at least they got that straightened out. The graphics remain the same as well.

Let's check out the Bonus Round for this game. Here are the prizes you get to play for:

Emerald Necklace
Caribbean Cruise
Beach House
April in Paris
Concorde to London
Bentley



When I was a kid, I thought the Emerald Necklace was a bowl of blood made of rock. Gosh that thing was scary to look at! Besides the Bentley, a prize my dad always recommended I play for, I occasionally would play for a "Concorde to London." Oh come on now, it's a Concorde!

Other than all that, expect nearly the same game as the first version. Unless you grew up with this game like I did, are a huge fan of the TV game show itself and/or a retro video game collector, there's nothing too much nor too special with this version.

Kris Caballero

Founder and operator of KCU Network, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially retired from video production and going back to the computer sciences, Kris enjoys studying Math, Quantum Computing, playing old video/DOS games, and listening to sports radio.

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