Chill out
It’s been a lot of fun playing new games for impressions and reviews, but I am an old man now. I have at least ten gray hairs, maybe more. And I’m really stuck in the past. So when I discovered Eskimo Bob: Starring Alfonzo today on Steam, based on an old Newgrounds cartoon series, I was pretty ecstatic.
Eskimo Bob is a game by Spoony Bard Productions. Originally a Kickstarter project developed for the NES, it is also available for pre-order as an actual NES cartridge. This is not a PC game; it’s a Nintendo game running on the PC, and as far as homebrew games go it would convincingly fit into the original NES library.
Homebrew games are fascinating to me. I love the idea that we can still push this hardware so many years later and produce titles for consoles that are long dead for people to enjoy. I have tried a number of homebrew games and have typically not been disappointed. Eskimo Bob looks like a fun, familiar platformer outing. But being that the NES is getting more expensive to collect for, it’s really neat to see the game getting the Steam treatment so that it can reach an audience who might not otherwise be able to play it.
If you like the idea of having a new cartridge to explore on your Nintendo, there is a pre-order option on Spoony Bard’s website. One thing to keep in mind however is that new NES titles don’t always play well with clone systems such as the Retron 5. Even the Retro AVS, which uses FPGA to simulate hardware on an identical level can have issues. So buyer beware; if you are using a Hyperkin clone or something along those lines, the cart may give you trouble.
Nice to see developers keeping the dream alive. Time to go grow some more gray hairs and play some Nintendo.
