"Ice Hockey" (Famicom Disk System)

Alright, can we just admit that I'm terrible at sports games like hockey and football? I prefer watching them on TV, but I can never get a grasp at being good playing these games. Perhaps it's because I'm more of a basketball guy, but still, getting to know the sport is knowing how to play them on your favorite video gaming system(s).

Another Famicom Disk game developed in English, this Ice Hockey title is presented in an Olympics-like gameplay, requiring you to choose your teams via world countries. Being that I was born, raised and currently live in the United States, it was natural for me to choose the US. We went against Canada and....let's just say my button mashing only did so much.



Yeah, I'm brave enough to show how awful I am.

The action is quite fun and during the intermission, the game even shows the ice crew re-surfacing the ice! I don't know, I thought that was pretty cool. The controls are responsive, but at times can delay depending on the console processing the high-intensity of the game. The music isn't much, just a "filler" to keep you focused on the game without being too annoying, although it sounds like music from a Game Boy game. There is an option for two players, so you can play along with someone else for a nice, fun weekend time together. The graphics and the fluid motion of the game are superb. Another game that showcases the beauty of 8-bit goodness. Each quarter is 7 minutes long.

I suppose that if you defeat all your opponents, you get a cut scene of the trophy presentation. Being that I was terrible at this game, and still am, I'm unlikely going to get to that part. (I should go out and actually play the sport, even if it means losing a tooth. Okay, maybe not.)

Just because I admit that I'm bad at this game doesn't mean it's awful. It's one of those 'black box' games from Nintendo's library that everyone ought to have in their video game collection. Check this game out! You'll likely play better than I did.

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming (software development) and video production, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, playing old video/DOS games, digital video archiving, and listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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