Name That Classic NES Game's First Line

[Slawbug]

The quotes thread inspired me to pull out this old meme. All of the quotes listed here are the FIRST LINE of a classic NES game. That means either the first line of the prologue, or if there is no mandatory prologue the first text you see when playing the game. If you have a guess at the answer to one or more questions, post them! I'll strike out the quotes as they are correctly guessed. There is only one rule:

 

Do not use Google to find the answers. Seriously, this just takes the fun out of it for other people.

 

NAME THAT CLASSIC NES GAME'S FIRST LINE

1. Now it is the beginning of a fantastic story! (Bubble Bobble; found by Thuryl)

2. In the early 1900's, a dark shadow covered a small country town in rural America. At that time, a young married couple vanished mysteriously from their home. (Mother AKA Earthbound Zero; found by Alorael)

3. 1997, October 1, The END DAY (Crystalis; found by Matanbuchus)

4. First you draw a circle, Then you dot the eyes. (Kirby's Adventure; Thuryl was close, found by Alorael)

5. I've been on a long journey. I came back to my home town to find it is almost deserted.

6. 1905. New York. (Little Nemo the Dream Master; found by Alorael)

7. The world is veiled in darkness. The wind stops, the sea is wild, and the earth begins to rot. (Final Fantasy; found by Thuryl)

8. This is a story about royal soldiers of a small country called Burland. (Nikki was close)

9. For many years, King Scorch had plotted to take over the world.

10. Emergency Order (Metroid; found by Nikki)

11. The people of Greece have been suffering. Is the throne in danger? (The Ratt was close)

12. We have been waiting for you a long time. I can see into the future. I shall foretell your destiny. Listen carefully... (Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar; found by B.J. Earles)

13. It's dangerous to go alone! Take this. (The Legend of Zelda; found by Nioca)

 

SUBMITTED BY DANTIUS

14. IN A.D. 2101 WAR WAS BEGINNING.

[Nioca]

13 - The Legend of Zelda

[Dantius]

I would like to submit one of my own.

Quote:

IN A.D. 2101 WAR WAS BEGINNING.

[A less presumptuous name.]

Man, I feel really young. The oldest console I ever used was an N64, and only rarely.

[nikki.]

Wasn't Burland a place in one of the Dragon Warrior games? I haven't played any for a long time (except one on the PlayStation a couple of years ago), so I couldn't say which one it actually is, except that it isn't #1. I'm pretty sure of that.

[Lilith]

1: Bubble Bobble

4: This has to be some kind of Kirby game but I forget what the Kirby game on the NES was called. Kirby's Dream Land?

7: Final Fantasy. Come on.

 

(Kinda disappointed you didn't extend this to include 8-bit games in general, but I guess Phantasy Star's opening line would be too much of a giveaway to anyone who's played it at all.)

 

edit: this post basically exists as an excuse for me to namedrop phantasy star, the best 8-bit RPG (if you don't count the rare sega master system release of Ultima 4)

[Triumph]

I know very little about NES games. First video game console my family ever had was the N64. I would have recognized the Zelda quote, but since Nioca already caught that... I must say I'm impressed by the variety in this mix of quotes. I tend to think of games from the NES as...very limited, and wouldn't have expected such variety.

[Nioca]

As do I, honestly. Not because I didn't have an NES, but because most of my NES-playing happened before the age of 7.

 

Now, hit me with quotes from the SNES or N64, on the other hand, and I'd probably nail two or three of them.

[Slawbug]

Originally Posted By: Lilith

(Kinda disappointed you didn't extend this to include 8-bit games in general, but I guess Phantasy Star's opening line would be too much of a giveaway to anyone who's played it at all.)

Originally Posted By: Nioca

Now, hit me with quotes from the SNES or N64, on the other hand, and I'd probably nail two or three of them.

An SNES opening lines version is already in the works. SMS games are just not well known enough. I was aiming for lines that might sound familiar, and then will make somebody say, "omg! yes" when they hear the answer.

Quote:

edit: this post basically exists as an excuse for me to namedrop phantasy star, the best 8-bit RPG (if you don't count the rare sega master system release of Ultima 4)

There was also an NES release of Ultima 4, which featured enough graphics and music changes to substantially alter the atmosphere of the game. Personally, I love the NES version -- the soundtrack really made the game for me.

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES

There was also an NES release of Ultima 4, which featured enough graphics and music changes to substantially alter the atmosphere of the game. Personally, I love the NES version -- the soundtrack really made the game for me.

Forget graphics and music changes, they substantially changed the gameplay, dialogue and plot -- and none of them for the better. The SMS version made only minor changes that were generally either neutral or improvements.

man i ain't gotten in a proper console war since forever

[Slawbug]

How did they substantially change the gameplay, dialogue, and plot? I know some gameplay changes, but they weren't substantial, were they? Likewise, the dialogue system changed, but the dialogue itself didn't change substantially, did it? And I thought the plot was unaltered?

Originally Posted By: Lilith

man i ain't gotten in a proper console war since forever

Why go to the next level when you can go light years beyond?

[Triumph]

Crisis on Infinite Slarties versus Lilith! FIGHT!!!

[Slawbug]

Please. The Deathmatch is FINALLY over. Let it rest in peace

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES

How did they substantially change the gameplay, dialogue, and plot? I know some gameplay changes, but they weren't substantial, were they? Likewise, the dialogue system changed, but the dialogue itself didn't change substantially, did it? And I thought the plot was unaltered?

Okay, you know what, I'm just going to tell you the moment that made me put the NES version away in disgust and you can decide for yourself whether I'm being unreasonable or not.

You know the town of Yew? And how you have to talk to the judge to find out where the Rune of Justice is, and how he asks you whether you can honestly say you've never committed a crime? In every other version: the correct answer is "no"; in the NES version, the correct answer is "yes". A game that's all about striving for perfection shouldn't reward you for pretending to be perfect already.

[Slawbug]

Actually, I think there may be a few other goofs with humility-tagged questions in the NES version, including one at the bottom of a @#$@# dungeon. And that's fair enough.

 

I just love the horribly fake NES drums.

[Alorael at Large]

2 is Mother 1, or pre-Earthbound for America.

 

4 must be Kirby's Adventure, then?

 

—Alorael, who can't play any of the original Ultimas. Clearly Ultima IV: Lazarus is better. The Dungeon Siege engine improves everything!

[Monroe]

I think #3 was the opening line of the first Terminator movie. The year was the same, at least. Man, glad we dodged that bullet.

[The Ratt]

Shot in the dark,

11. Hercules

[Matanbuchus]

3 is from Crystalis, I think.

[Dintiradan]

I only recognized 13 (and 14, from its notoriety). Can you tell that neither myself nor my friends owned consoles growing up?

[Enraged Slith]

11. Kid Icarus?

[Slawbug]

HINTS

5. This is often considered a classic RPG, but I've never been able to get any enjoyment out of it, nor have I understood why anyone would call it an RPG. It's a platformer with a few statistics and a giant tree.

6. The opening scenes involve a zeppelin and a magical bag of candy.

8. "Somewhere, long ago, there was a very tomboyish princess..."

9. Think about it. Who would oppose a king of scorching?

10. This is the definition of a classic.

11. This one is fairly obscure. It was translated by the Spoony Bard.

12. The introduction to this game was greatly truncated from other versions.

 

I've heard it suggested that the date in #3 was inspired by the original Terminator movie, which predates the game by five years. Very different story, though.

[nikki.]

I know 10 because I replayed it this evening.

 

Metroid!

 

"DEFEAT THE METROID OF THE PLANET ZEBETH AND DESTROY THE MOTHER BRAIN THE MECHANICAL LIFE VEIN

 

GALAXY FEDERATION POLICE M510"

[The Mystic]

I think I'll watch this one from the sidelines, and not embarrass myself by guessing. I didn't play enough games back in the day.

Originally Posted By: Master1

Man, I feel really young. The oldest console I ever used was an N64, and only rarely.

Why, you little whippersnapper! When I was your age....

[Alorael at Large]

6. Little Nemo! (I couldn't remember the full name, so I turned to Wikipedia. It's Little Nemo: The Dream Master.) Or, conceivably, A Boy and His Blob. I can't actually remember the introduction to either one, but Nemo seems more likely. It has a 1905 vibe.

 

—Alorael, who feels like he should be able to get #5. All he's coming up with is Ys, though, which is more Zeldoid RPG trappings than platformer.

[Slawbug]

I think #5 may share part of its engine with the earlier Ys games.

[Lilith]

code reuse is often a ys decision

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

12 reminds me of Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (aka Ultima IV), but I can't be sure. It has been a very long time since I played any NES games.

[Slawbug]

CORRECT!