The NES Endings Compendium: Years 1985 – 1988 (Merch)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Publisher: Hardcore Gaming 101
- Official Store: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/books/the-nes-endings-compendium-years-1985-1988/
Now I've never reviewed a book before, let alone something as bespoke as this. First learning of it thanks to a news post on our own site I was enthralled, and couldn't pass up an opportunity to have a closer look.
As products go, this is something you understand as soon as you've seen a page or two within. This is nothing short of a love letter to an early era of gaming, and this love seeps into every aspect of the book. Before diving into the meat, you're given a brief letter from the author (@ReyVGM on the forums if you're curious!). It sets a tone for what you're about to read, and tells you why such a thing even exists. From here, my awe for the sheer attention to detail was boundless.
With so many NES games released between 1985 and 1988, the book is split into various eras: 1985 to 1986, 1987, 1988, and the games that don't quite have an ending worth talking about. I love this. What this ends up doing is telling a story in itself, showing how game narratives to a larger scale developed over time. If I had to find fault, it'd be in the fact the contents page is sorted alphabetically in oppose to chronologically. It would've been nice to have had a larger timeline to better contextualise the games, with an index page serving the purpose of alphabetical sorting, but this is largely a personal preference.
Looking to the games themselves, you have a mixed bag of layouts, largely coming down to how much there is to talk about with the game in question. Especially with your 'endless' games, you might find as many as five squeezed onto a page with a brief comment and a screenshot to explain why there's not more. Where this book shines however is in its luscious double or even quadruple-page spreads on some of the hottest titles. Not only do you have incredible detail and personal insight, you also have completely themed surroundings. It's not just one or two screenshots haphazardly thrown onto a page, instead following design principles closest to publications like Nintendo Power, EGM, or even the Official Nintendo Magazine if you're in the UK like myself. Reading through its pages brings with it an intense sense of nostalgia not only for the games, but for this style of presentation. It's baffling just how well they managed to nail this look and feel, but damn did they do it well.
The two physical versions of this book both offer up something unique. Available as both a hardback and paperback edition, there's a a degree of decision-making to be done based on what you want out of it. On one hand, the hardback edition seems more fitting of a collector. Sturdier and likely looking better on a shelf, it seems the better pick for those wanting something to display and pick up once in a while. On the other hand, the paperback version plays into the same sense of nostalgia previously mentioned. It doesn't feel like some premium product to be horded and shelved. It takes me back to my own days of reading the Official Nintendo Magazine. There's a joy that comes with flipping through the pages that I can't quite explain, and yet one that I'm certain anybody who has enjoyed these publications will surely understand. While I may have preferred a hardback copy to display, I can't help but feel it'd lose a certain personal touch I felt here.
The NES Endings Compendium, the first volume of what I hope will be many, is a book I can't help but recommend. Given my young age, I can't claim any nostalgia for the system at hand, and if I'm being completely honest, I don't believe many of the games hold up nowadays. Even so, I'm sat here reading, smiling, living the passionate experiences of another person, and I'm in love with it. I want to read the next volume. I want to see this grow, I want to read about SNES games, N64 games. This is a book I so hope does well for no reason beyond wanting to read more, and I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out. Whichever version you choose to pick up, you won't be disappointed.
Verdict
- Incredible theming in line with nostalgic publications
- Brilliant attention to detail
- Has a fantastically-personal feel to the writing
- Available as paperback or hardback to suit different preferences
- Would have preferred a chronologically-ordered contents page
- Not the full NES library (though a second volume is in the works!)
