Retro Wildlands #65 - Ice Hockey

[00:00:19] Greetings fellow travelers, vagrants, explorers, wildlanders, and welcome to episode 65 of The Retro Wildlands. My name is Nomad and this is my gaming podcast where I like to share my thoughts and experiences with a video game that I have discovered or rediscovered while roaming the gaming wildlands. Thank you very much for tuning into the show today. Expeditions into the gaming wilderness are always a good time, but they are much more enjoyable when you are able to join us.

[00:00:50] Go ahead and find yourself somewhere around the campfire to settle in, my friend. Dee Dee, our canine expedition leader, will be around shortly to greet you warmly and administer the obligatory sniffing of the leg. The campfire is fully fueled and quite warm, and I have Dee Dee to thank for that. Temperatures around here have been quite low and Dee Dee does not do well at all in the cold, so he made it his personal mission to make sure that we have plenty of wood and our fire is fed.

[00:01:19] Still don't know how he does all this without thumbs, though. Dexter, Dee Dee's brother from another dog mother, also pitched in a hand, or rather a paw. But for as much as our boys don't like the cold and snow, they do have their fun in it from time to time. Well, until they walk over a patch of ice and then it's like they forgot how to walk altogether. And that is not even a dig at them. I'm pretty much the same way.

[00:01:46] I hate the snow, I hate the cold, but you know what I don't hate? Throwing on a pair of ice skates. Well, let me be clear. I am not a skater in any capacity in real life, but when it comes to gaming, that is a whole other story. On today's episode, we're checking out a game on the original Nintendo that I would go so far as to say is essential.

[00:02:13] It's a game that more than likely made it into your Nintendo if you or your parents owned the system back in the late 80s and early 90s. It was approachable, easy to play, had replay value, which isn't something you can always say about a retro game, and above all else, it was very fun to play. Especially if you were fortunate enough to play with a sibling, a parent, or a friend.

[00:02:38] Today, on the Retro Wildlands, we are going to be checking out Ice Hockey. Ice Hockey sounds incredibly boring, if I'm being honest. Personally, I was never really into sports games all that much, and I'm still not. While I love to partake in sports, and especially love watching most of them, sports-based video games never really grabbed me all that much.

[00:03:03] And of all the sports that I passively watch, hockey is not one of them. At the end of the day, I know only two things about the sport. One, you win by scoring the most points. And two, I'm pretty sure I know what a power play is. Oh, and Wayne Gretzky was apparently pretty damn good at the game too. But growing up, there was something about Ice Hockey on the Nintendo that stuck with me all of these years later.

[00:03:31] Back in the day, I mostly played the game alone, but I was also fortunate enough to play with my cousins from time to time whenever I was over my grandmother's house. And each and every time that I did play, whether I was alone or with somebody else, I had a genuinely good time with the game, even if I wasn't all that good at it. And that's the thing that sticks out to me whenever I think of Ice Hockey.

[00:03:56] It may be a simple name for a simple game, but that is exactly what makes it a joy to play, and one that I think sparks a lot of nostalgia in a lot of people. Beyond that, hockey games in general weren't really a thing around this time either. At least not that I remember. There was one game on the Atari 2600, and I think I saw one on the Commodore 64 at 1.2, but that's largely it. And I can't imagine they were all that good either.

[00:04:25] Ice Hockey on the NES was the perfect sports game thanks to its pick-up and play nature, as well as your ability to customize your team to tailor your playstyle or create some interesting dynamics. My love for this game came rushing back when I was fortunate enough to find a physical copy of Ice Hockey at my local retro gaming store. Holding the game cartridge in my hand and looking down at the logo, I felt a flood of memories come racing back.

[00:04:52] But once those memories faded, I found myself thinking, was Ice Hockey still a good game to play today? Or was it nostalgia that was keeping this game alive in my mind as one of the greats? It didn't take me long at all to decide that I had to find out, so I brought this game home and I fired it up. And after playing several games, I knew what I had to do. And that's to share my thoughts and a few memories with you all.

[00:05:23] Now, if you're new to the show, I like to kick things off first by chatting it up with you all and give you all a peek behind the scenes here in the Retro Wildlands. Depending on what's on my mind, I like to share what's going on with the show, what's happening in my personal life, maybe talk a little bit of video games that I might be playing, or whatever else I feel like tossing into this here microphone. I'll also use the upcoming time to read and respond to any comments we received about Ice Hockey

[00:05:50] from the Retro Wildlands community as a way to set the stage for the main part of the episode. Now, if none of that interests you and you are just here for the Nintendo Ice Hockey Experience, no worries, you can skip ahead about, eh, I'm thinking about 10-15 minutes this time around, and you should get into the game talk. I'll also be sure to put timestamps in the show notes so you can see exactly where you need to go if you don't want to stick around.

[00:06:17] However, I think you should stick around, or at the very least consider it. It's going to be an awesome time as we start things off by chit-chatting, talking about some video games, and your fellow wildlanders will get a chance to sound off their thoughts to the rest of us. And I can't think of a better way to get our expedition going. So, without further ado, let's get into our opening segment that I like to call Campfire Catch-Up.

[00:07:01] 2025 is well underway, and so far, I am feeling pretty darn good about the new year. I have some goals in mind that I'm already starting to work towards, and a few things lined up for the new year that are giving me reason to be excited for what's ahead. And, as I write up this script, I'm making some decent progress on my gaming backlog, so things are really starting off right. So, speaking of the old backlog, let's chat about some of the games that I've been playing and already completed.

[00:07:31] The first game I completed in 2025 is a bit of an odd one, but for someone like myself that's a Resident Evil fanboy, this game was pretty cool, and I'd love for you guys to check it out. Developed and published by Fractal Projects as well as Radaleca Games, Save Room is a puzzle game that focuses on one of the best parts of Resident Evil 4, the inventory management. I have to imagine most of you listening have probably either played RE4,

[00:08:01] or at the very least, are aware of how the inventory management in that game works, but you basically have this attache case that's more or less made up of a grid system. Each item you pick up is a different size, and you have to carefully organize your inventory to effectively carry everything. Save Room focuses on this idea by giving you items, and your task is to fit everything into the space provided. More than that, you may need to combine items as well as fill weapons with ammunition

[00:08:31] to make sure you can fit everything in the case. It's a great homage to Resident Evil 4, and the puzzles themselves will certainly make you think. It didn't take me long though to finish all of the puzzles that the game had to offer, and I got a shiny platinum trophy on my PlayStation account as a result, but Save Room was a game that was sitting on my backlog for a while, and I am finally glad that it's been beaten. If you're even a passive Resident Evil fan, or you just like puzzle games in general,

[00:09:00] and you're looking for something that's not too complicated, but not super simple, I think Save Room will slot in nicely into your backlog. Now speaking of games that I have beaten, I have finally finished Mario & Luigi Brothership on the Nintendo Switch. After around 65 hours, I watched the end credits roll, and I felt very, very happy to have finally completed this game. But as I put my Switch down, I thought back on my journey through this game,

[00:09:30] and decided that, while I had a genuinely good time overall, I was very happy to move on from this experience. I think when I first mentioned this game a few episodes ago, I was set to give this game a solid 7 out of 10, having put several hours into it, and I still stand by that rating. It's a good game, but it wore on me after a while. In summary, I had a blast with the battle system,

[00:09:55] and how easy it was to customize Mario & Luigi to the situation at hand. But I felt like things took entirely too long to get going from a gameplay and story standpoint. SideQuest didn't really feel like a good use of my time, thanks to some lackluster rewards here and there, and I was not at all invested in seeing what came next in regards to the story. And yes, I acknowledge the fact that this is a Mario game,

[00:10:21] which never really comes with deep characters and a sessed out story, really, but I wasn't really hooked all that much on the game itself, and the story it was trying to tell. Well, there were some shining spots, I will say. The story that the game was trying to tell about the bonds of friendship and brotherhood was pretty touching by the end. But beyond that, leveling up the brothers and the combat is really what kept me vested in the game.

[00:10:51] Now, again, don't get me wrong, Brothership was a very solid and a very good game, and I genuinely had fun with it throughout. It was just a little bit too long for what it offered, in my opinion. Any Mario & Luigi fan will more than likely have fun with this game, and it is a great RPG for fans of any skill level. Just be prepared for a very slow burn to start, and side quests that may or may not be worth your time depending on the experience that you choose to have.

[00:11:20] I am glad that I played this game through to the end, but I can confidently say that I will not be picking this game up again. So now that I've cleared off two games from the backlog, one of my goals for 2024 is that I want to play at least three of the first six Final Fantasies. After clearing up Brothership a few nights ago, I fired up the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster on the PlayStation 4,

[00:11:48] and I'm starting to work my way through that game again. The original Final Fantasy is one that I've tried to jump into a few times now on my PlayStation Portable, but I never committed to just finishing the game. I always got sidetracked by something. However, that changes this year, and I am committed to seeing it through this time. I have my Warrior, my Monk, Black Mage, and White Mage ready to go, and I am excited for the journey ahead.

[00:12:16] The nice thing about this game is that it plays perfectly on my PlayStation 5 through my PlayStation Portal, so I can just relax and level grind while my wife and I watch a show on TV. But soon, though, I will be monopolizing the TV to replay a game that I haven't played for several years that I am fixin' to talk about as a guest on another podcast. Back in 2019, I played through Detroit Become Human,

[00:12:46] a narrative-based adventure developed by Quantic Dream, the same studio responsible for titles such as Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls. I really don't remember what compelled me to play Detroit when I did, but I remember firing it up on a Saturday, and I played through the entire game over the course of that weekend while my wife watched. I was pretty impressed with the game overall, and both my wife and I were drawn into the story. It's an interesting game to think about,

[00:13:15] as I often think about how differently the story would play out based on certain decisions. At its heart, Detroit Become Human tries to tell the story of a divided society viewed through the eyes of three androids who have gained sentience and puts the player in positions where morally great choices need to be made and you're left debating what's right or wrong. I still remember how the game made me feel in some ways, and I've been eager to go through the experience again to see if my opinions on this game have changed or evolved at all.

[00:13:45] When the opportunity to talk about this game on another podcast came up, I jumped at the chance. So yeah, assuming everything comes together, I'll be taking this game on again here in the near future and having a pretty fun and in-depth discussion about it. So when I do get more information on when that will be available to you if you want to partake in that discussion, I will absolutely let you know. Now, having said that, that is a good time to segue into our social media presence

[00:14:13] and remind you all where it is we are on the interwebs. If you're looking to follow the podcast, gain the opportunity to comment on the game or topic that I'll be covering on the show for a chance to be featured on said show, or you're just looking to see what it is that I've got going on over here, be sure to follow us on social media. The Retro Wildlands and I are mostly active on Facebook, Instagram, and Blue Sky. So search The Retro Wildlands on those platforms

[00:14:42] and you should be able to find us. You can also check out our link tree at linktr.ee forward slash retro wildlands for a one-stop shop to all of our social media links. I am also on YouTube if you are interested in listening to the show over there or if you wanted to check out the few videos that I've thrown together over there. All in all, I love chatting with you all and meeting new people, so feel free to join our expedition on your favorite social platform.

[00:15:10] As far as anything else going on around here, I'm trying to plan ahead for what games I'd like to cover on the show coming up this year. My local retro gaming store has gotten a decent amount of original Nintendo games in lately, and I've started to expand my physical collection in that area a little bit. Recently, I got my hands on Kung Fu, Jackal, and Metal Gear, all of which I'm eager to cover on the show soon.

[00:15:37] Plus, with the Super Bowl coming up here in the beginning of February, I've had a hankering to revisit one of my childhood favorites, Tecmo Super Bowl on the Super Nintendo. A lot of podcasts that I listen to try their best to have a schedule of what's coming up, so I'm going to see about mimicking that idea as best I can. I will say, if there's a game that you'd want me to cover on the show, don't be afraid to reach out to me on social media and let me know.

[00:16:04] A decent amount of our previous episodes were listener suggestions to me, and I've played some pretty good games that I probably wouldn't have played otherwise. So, if there's one that you are itching to hear me talk about, or you just want me to try, absolutely let me know. Alright, and I think that is really all I have on my mind this time around for this episode's catch-up. Let's go ahead and transition over to the reason that you're all here today.

[00:16:30] It's time to talk about Ice Hockey for the original Nintendo. We had a couple of members of the Retro Wildlands community drop their thoughts on Ice Hockey over on our social media pages. First up, we had the Unbuckled Comics podcast who reached out over on our Facebook page. They said,

[00:17:05] Me and a buddy had a pretty heated best-of-three game where game three came down to an overtime goal and a controller thrown out of disappointment. It's a great pick-up and play for 30 minutes to kill time. You just reminded me of the tournaments and series that my cousins and I would have together when I was growing up. That's some of the beauty of this game. It's extremely simple by nature, and there's no season or tournament modes,

[00:17:33] but that didn't stop us from making our own tournaments up or keeping track of other stats on a piece of notebook paper. We used to try and get the players to fight all the time as well. It's a simple feature by today's standards, but we loved watching the players get into scraps and then seeing one of the players get pulled into the penalty box. But what I love most about your comment is how you discovered this game on the Wii Virtual Console. You didn't even grow up with this game by the sounds of it,

[00:18:01] and you still found the joy in its simplicity and its pick-up-and-play game design. And if that is not a ringing endorsement for how much fun this game can actually be today, I don't know what would be. Lastly, we had a comment from Brad, who shot me a direct message over on our Facebook page with their thoughts. Brad said,

[00:18:49] It's funny, Brad. Brad said, my cousins and I would do the exact same thing. We would come up with funny gameplay matchups based on the thin, average, or big players that you could assign at the start of the game. Thin vs. big was always my favorite. I loved how the big guys would just chuck the little guys across the ice, but if you were good, you could have the little guys skate circles around the big ones. And the Blades of Steel vs. Ice Hockey debate is always a fun one.

[00:19:17] I mention at the end of the show, but for fun, I put a poll out on our Facebook page, and I also dropped a poll on the Super Pod Lounge, a Discord server that I frequent. Those that participated on Facebook largely enjoyed ice hockey over Blades of Steel, whereas the Discord server preferred Blades of Steel. It's interesting how split down the middle a lot of people seem to be about both of these titles. I don't think really one game is better than the other,

[00:19:45] they just both bring uniqueness to the table. But regardless of which one anyone prefers, I think they're both great games, and I absolutely think they both have a place in anyone's collections today. Thanks to the Unbuckled Comics Podcast and Brad for submitting their thoughts and memories about ice hockey for the show today. If you want to leave your thoughts on a game or topic that I'll be covering in the future, you can do that by checking out the Retro Wildlands on our social media pages,

[00:20:14] where I usually put a call out for them as I'm writing the script for the show. Follow us on your favorite social platforms, or you can head over to our link tree at linktr.ee forward slash retro wildlands for your one-stop shop of retro wildlands goodness. Now, before we move on, we're going to take a quick break. In the meantime, it is my privilege to give the floor to an awesome gaming podcast that I think you should be listening to.

[00:20:42] So if you have just a minute, please stick around. This is Tales from the Backlog. Do you find yourself playing older games and wishing that there were new discussions about those games? Enter Tales from the Backlog. Hi, I'm Dave Jackson, and on each episode, I'm joined by a guest to break down those games that may be stuck in your ever-expanding backlog. Each episode looks at one game in depth, focusing on mechanics, story, music,

[00:21:11] and other aspects with no spoilers until a clearly marked spoiler wall in the middle. If you've played the game, go ahead and climb that spoiler wall and enjoy in-depth story discussions, and if not, jump out when we warn you and maybe go play that game for yourself. We have over 100 episodes in the feed, everything from Disco Elysium to Tunic to discussion episodes about how to get into horror games, and if games actually need to be fun, or if they have more to offer. I guarantee that there's something in there for everybody.

[00:21:41] Once again, that's Tales from the Backlog, available wherever your podcasts are found. Originally released on the Nintendo in March of 1988, when I was three and a half years old. Holy crap. Ice Hockey, which was originally released on the Famicom disc system before heading to the Nintendo here in the United States, is a game that is exactly what it sounds like. There are six teams to choose from representing a specific country.

[00:22:11] We have the United States, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Canada, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Your team of five is tasked with scoring as many goals as possible, and in order to do that, you are going to need to balance both offense and defense effectively. More than that, you're going to need to make sure that your team lineup is optimized for your playstyle. There's multiple ways to see yourself the victor,

[00:22:39] but let us not forget some amazing advice handed down by the great Wayne Gretzky. A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. So, let's gear up, Wildlanders. Slide on those elbow pads, fasten your helmet, and strap on those gloves. The crowd is going wild and the competition is fierce. But as you take to center ice and prepare to face off against your opponent,

[00:23:09] always remember, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

[00:23:16] I think we could all agree that nostalgia can make us feel amazing in some awesome and unique ways.

[00:23:52] Whenever I get a glimpse of something that reminds me of my younger years, or times in my life when things weren't nearly as complicated or busy, I'm almost instantly transported back to a time where things just made sense. It doesn't even need to be anything complicated or involved. Sometimes it's as simple as a smell, a taste, or just a flash of something that sparks a memory. Then, you're right back in your grandmother's living room playing Duck Hunt.

[00:24:20] You're in an arcade taking on Mr. Burns at the Simpsons Arcade Cabinet. Or you're waiting for a pizza while playing Pac-Man on a tabletop-style arcade machine. More and more, I find myself falling down into the nostalgia rabbit hole, and more often than not lately, I find myself falling any time I'm at my local retro gaming store. Sometimes when I look over the labels and cover art of all the different games, I'm transported back in time.

[00:24:49] But every once in a while, there will be a game that not only transports me back in time, it revives long dormant memories and brings life back into my cold and blackened hut. Okay, maybe not quite that last part, but you get the idea. When I saw Ice Hockey on the Nintendo sitting on the shelf that fateful day, I quite literally stopped in my tracks. The blue background, red logo,

[00:25:16] the hockey player with the look of sheer determination on his face, and that golden Nintendo seal of quality. Ice Hockey on the NES was honestly a game I had largely forgotten about, and back when I started this podcast, I had overlooked it initially as a game that I had once played as a kid. It's not that the game was forgettable or anything, but it was a simple experience. And that, along with many other things, was its strength.

[00:25:44] I don't remember much about my experience with Ice Hockey. Most of my memories with the original Nintendo came from when I was at my grandmother's house. New games would appear over time, but I remember playing games like Super Mario Bros., lots of Duck Hunt, WWF WrestleMania, even though I had no idea how bad that game really was at the time, and I'm pretty sure we had Kung Fu at some point. I don't remember when Ice Hockey showed up,

[00:26:11] but I remember playing a ton of it by myself, and sometimes with my cousins when they would visit. We would play for hours, switching teams, messing around with player types, and seeing how high we could get the score to go when playing games with the longest time limit. We would sit together, huddled in a back bedroom, whenever my grandparents wanted to watch TV in the living room. We made so many memories in that little space, and even thinking about them now puts a smile on my face.

[00:26:42] The funny part to me was that, in reality, none of us really liked Ice Hockey as an actual sport. But the fun factor of that game was off the charts. So with a copy of the game firmly in my hand the other day, I had to bring it home and relive my childhood a bit. After doing a little more research on the game after getting it home, I learned that there was a lot of love for this game,

[00:27:07] and it would often find itself on many lists of great NES games. It was never super high on any of those lists, but its presence was undeniable. Ice hockey is often put alongside Blades of Steel when people think of hockey games on the system, and both of them are pretty well regarded. I know I've played Blades of Steel at some point or another, but hell if I could remember when or where. For all intents and purposes, though, I was an ice hockey kid.

[00:27:38] But what really made ice hockey fun, and what was it that stuck with people after all these years? Was ice hockey a good game at its core, or was this just another game that we all grew up with and learned to love because it was one of a few games that we would have access to? And most importantly, was I as good at this game as I remember? Well my friends, after sinking some time into this game, I think I have an answer to the first question.

[00:28:08] As far as whether or not I was as good at this game as I was back then, well, spoiler alert, I can tell you definitely that I was not. Now, before we slide ice hockey into our Nintendo and check this game out for ourselves, we need to start peeling back the layers a little bit and see exactly what it is that we're working with. So, what is this game?

[00:28:36] Ice hockey is a sports game based on... Yes, you guessed it, the sport of ice hockey. Two teams square off and the objective is to get more points than the other team. You accomplish this by smacking a black puck into the opposing team's goal. There's three periods of play that can be either 7, 10, or 15 minutes in length each. Each team has five players, including a goalie,

[00:29:03] which I think is one less player than an actual hockey game, but don't quote me on that. Ice hockey on the NES does a pretty good job of keeping true to how a game of ice hockey in real life actually plays out. As far as the development of this game goes, I actually didn't find too much online to really speak of here. The main thing I learned was that Ice hockey was directed by Hideki Kono. If that name sounds familiar to you,

[00:29:31] it's because Kono worked on several projects in the late 80s and early 90s for Nintendo. He was first an assistant director and course designer for Yumikojo Doki Doki Panic, which most of you know went on to become Super Mario 2 here in America. Ice hockey was Kono's directorial debut, but after, he would go on to be the assistant director for Super Mario Bros. 3, the map director on Super Mario World, and then he would become the director

[00:30:01] on games such as SimCity, Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and more. In the early to mid-2000s, Kono would go on to produce several games as well. Mario Kart DS, Geist, Fire Emblem Heroes. It's pretty interesting to see where directing started for Hideki Kono, and that was with the gem known as Ice Hockey. So, after all of that, what do you say that we pop this game in

[00:30:30] and give it a whirl, huh? Ice Hockey really isn't that complicated of a game, and the best way to really relay how special it is is to put on our gear and take to the ice. Let me grab my copy of Ice Hockey off the shelf over here, and let's slide that bad boy into our Nintendo. All right, let's power it up. Ah, crap. Someone must have been

[00:30:59] screwing around with the TV. Was that you, Dee Dee? Was that you messing with the TV boy? Uh-huh. Whatever you say, man. All right, let's see. Channel 3. There we go. On screen, we see the title screen straight away. In big, icy blue letters at the top of the screen, we see the words Ice Hockey.

[00:31:29] At the top right, we see three hockey players each taking a turn at smacking a puck with their hockey sticks. Nice. Twelve more hockey players can be seen in the middle of the screen in a row, and I always thought they looked more like bumblebees with their yellowish and orangish uniforms than actual hockey players. Was I the only one who thought that? Anyway, below that, we're given a ton of options to choose from, so strap in as we go through all the choices here.

[00:31:59] We need to choose whether this is going to be a one-player game or a two-player game. Now, taking a step back a moment, I always appreciated how upfront this game was. No development logos, no pre-game banter, just bam. You're here to play by yourself or you're here to play with a friend. That's really the only choice you need to make. Ah, damn, I love old video games. Anyway, a two-player game will let you play

[00:32:28] with a friend in the same room as you, but a one-player game puts you against the computer. For our purposes today, let's select one-player game and I'll show you the ropes and how to be an expert on the ice. Okay, before we can get into the game, we have to select some options. Here's where ice hockey can really shine for a lot of players depending on how they want to tailor their experience to what it is that they're looking for. First, we have to choose our teams.

[00:32:59] Teams in ice hockey are based on countries and you have six to choose from. First, sporting a blue uniform is the good ol' U.S. of A. Then, we have Sveden in a pale sort of yellow color. Poland, sporting an olive drab looking uniform. Canada, who's in green. The Soviet Union, sporting red. And finally, Czechoslovakia, in gray. While I like the inclusion of countries as teams

[00:33:29] and it made the game feel a little bit more authentic, I used to just pick the team I wanted to play as based solely on the color. If I wasn't playing as the Soviet Union for their red uniforms, I was playing as Czechoslovakia for their gray. Sometimes my cousins and I would each play as the Soviet Union and Canada because green and red were the colors of Mario and Luigi and we just thought that was kind of cool. There are no differences in how each country plays,

[00:33:58] so just pick whichever one you want and then we can move on. I'd say for our game though, let's go ahead and choose the United States as our team and let's take on our neighbors to the north, Canada. Now, before we press start and move on to the next screen, we have some other options at the bottom here. We can toggle the game's speed from 1 all the way up to the max, which is 5. I honestly think the game runs pretty fast

[00:34:27] on the first setting, but I encourage you to play around with this setting as you get used to the game. My cousins and I would play on the highest speed all the time together and man, it was one hell of a good time watching everything zip around so fast. We absolutely had a ball, and now that I think about it, it really spoke to how awesome the NES was being able to keep up with some of those high speeds. For our game today though, let's leave our speed set to 1 for now. Finally,

[00:34:57] we can toggle how long each period is going to be. There are three periods in hockey, and by default, each period is 7 minutes long, but you can toggle that between 7, 10, and 15 minutes. Don't worry though, these aren't real world minutes here. Seconds in this game count down really fast, like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, kind of fast. Going back and looking at some gameplay I captured, one 7 minute period

[00:35:26] took about 4 real life minutes, and that was with some interruptions like goals and penalties. Let's keep it short for our game, and leave 7 selected as is. Now the next screen is where all the real preparation and strategizing happens. Each player has their team shown on screen with a number next to each player. When you're highlighting a specific number, you can change which type of player goes into that slot.

[00:35:56] You have three different player types that are easily distinguished by their physical appearance. First, you have a thin player. Next, you have an average size player. And lastly, you have a stocky player that you can select. There's nothing on screen to tell you any of this, but according to the instruction manual, each player type has strengths and weaknesses. The first skill that the instruction manual calls out is sticking.

[00:36:24] I am not a hockey expert, but I think this is your player's ability to swing their hockey stick around in instances where you're trying to steal the puck from your opponent. The next attribute in the instruction manual is shooting strength. The higher your shooting strength, the harder and faster the puck will fly towards the opponent's net. Body check is the next skill, and it's your player's ability to knock opposing players around the ice. Finally, the last skill

[00:36:54] is face-off, which is the player's ability to win face-offs with your opponent. The average-looking player is just that, average at everything, and they serve as your team's all-rounder. Your skinny player is more suited to quick movements. They have the fastest speed on the ice, they're fast at sticking, and pretty good at the face-off too, but their shooting strength is the weakest, and they suck at body checking. But on the other end of the spectrum,

[00:37:23] your big players have dynamite shooting strength, and can knock players around like the ragdolls. However, the caveat with them is that they are not so great at the face-off, and they are quite slow at sticking, and they have the slowest movement speed out of all the other players. One of the funnest parts about this game is messing around with different player combinations and coming up with strategies to beat your opponent. Personally, I favor a team

[00:37:52] with two skinny guys, one average guy, and one big boy. My skinny guys are generally moving fast and trying to work the puck from the opponent and doing whatever they can to get said puck in the hands of my big guy and setting up shots on the opponent. My average guy slots right in and can fit in either role. But I'm sure my team combination isn't the best. I definitely encourage you to experiment and figure out what combination you prefer.

[00:38:22] My cousins and I would think up all sorts of crazy combinations, though, and I think that was part of the fun, too. A team of only thin players against a team of only large players was always a fun one. Or maybe you'd just go average Joes against average Joes for a balanced experience. I never really thought about it until recently, but the ability to change your teams like this really added some decent replay value that older Nintendo games didn't really have. Sure,

[00:38:52] a NES tough game like Castlevania, for instance, has great replay value because you'll be dying all the time and replaying the game over and over again, but Ice Hockey was in a league all of its own. When you're happy with your team lineup and just for the sake of our game here, I vote we leave the default team as two average, one thin, and one big player B, highlight the word end and press your A button to start the game.

[00:39:26] Alright, here we go. We're taken to the ice rink and both teams skate towards the center, our team from the left and our opponents from the right. Both teams gather at center ice and enter the face-off formation. Before the referee comes on scene, we're actually able to switch up the positions of our players if we wanted to change up who it is that's going to be doing the facing off. Pressing the A, B, or directional buttons will move players around

[00:39:55] and unless you take the time to read the instruction manual to see exactly what button does what and moves who where, you can just hit whatever buttons you want and figure it out on your own. That's what I used to do. By default, our big guy is front and center as well as our opponents so let's just leave it be and let the big boys have at it. At the sound of the whistle, the referee skates onto the ice and moves to the center, hand raised. He's going to drop the puck in the middle

[00:40:25] and it's going to be up to us to make sure that we get control of it so we can immediately go on the offensive. Now, here's something I never really figured out. Your A button is what you will mainly use when you want to gain control of the puck or pass the puck to a teammate. During the face-off, I would always smash the A button but I never really knew if this did anything. There's no mention of needing to do this in the instruction manual either.

[00:40:54] Regardless though, we are going to smash the hell out of our A button when the ref drops the puck. That's what my cousins and I did so if nothing else, let's just keep that tradition alive. Okay, are you ready? After a tense moment, the ref drops the puck. Okay, smash your A button. The puck goes flying towards the top of the screen and with that, the game is officially underway. Now, I am no hockey expert

[00:41:24] but the name of the game should be Puck Control. You want your team to be in control of the puck as much as possible and you want to get it into your opponent's net often and without mercy. To do that, we have to move and use our hockey stick effectively. When it comes to moving around the ice and taking actions, whether or not your team has control of the puck will dictate what your controls do. If you don't have control of the puck like we don't right now, the game will assume

[00:41:53] that we're on defense. The directional pad can be used to move your player around and the one that's flashing is the player that you're actually controlling. Pressing the B button on your controller will switch your control to the player on your team that's closest to the puck. Go ahead and do that now. Nice. Now you're controlling one of your skinny guys and he's just about to the puck. Your A button can be used to attack your opponent either by body checking

[00:42:23] or swiping with your stick in hopes of stealing the puck from their grab. We don't need to do that here since the puck is sliding on its own so all we need to do is touch it and it'll be in our possession. Excellent. You got it. Quick. Head back towards center ice to avoid their average Joe coming at you. Excellent. Now that the game recognizes you as being on offense your controls will change.

[00:42:52] You're always going to be in control of whatever teammate has the puck so there's no switching around anymore. If you want to pass the puck to another player you can do that with your A button. Passing should make the puck go to your closest teammate but be careful. As the puck slides towards them other players can intercept the puck so keep an eye out on where your opponents are at all times. Oh and will you look at that? Our big boy is near the bottom of the rink and he's in prime

[00:43:22] scoring position. Let's go ahead and get the puck over to him. First move yourself closer to close the gap. Great. Now pass it. Nice. Our big guy has it and as soon as he takes possession you now have control of him. You'll immediately notice how slow he moves but don't worry. His girth alone is enough to move people out of his way especially the little guys. Ha. Like this one

[00:43:51] coming up on us right now. The big guys in this game just knock the skinny guys aside so feel free to just run into this knucklehead. Ha. That's right. Sit down. Uh oh. Watch out. Their big guy is just about on you. You're not going to be able to knock him away so you'll need to get out of the way. Oh crap. Watch out. He's trying to take the puck from you. When an opponent tries to take the puck press the A button repeatedly to fight back.

[00:44:21] This is called a puck battle and if the opponent succeeds the puck will go flying and it'll be a free-for-all to get it back. Nice work. We were able to send the opponent flying and regain control. Alright. We're close enough to the goal that we can take a clear shot now. We just need to watch out for their goalie. Pressing the B button will make you shoot but there's a little bit more to it than that. As you get comfortable with the game if you really want

[00:44:50] to fake your opponent out you can press the B button quickly and lightly and this will make your player take a shooting pose and not actually shoot. This is a great way to throw off your opponent who may rush to a defensive posture and leave you a hole wide enough to shoot through. Now if you hold the B button down you'll effectively charge up your shot. The longer you hold the B button down the more powerful the shot's gonna be. Do this long enough

[00:45:19] and the puck may even come off the ice and pass through the sticks of some of your opponents. I will say though charging up too much may actually make your puck travel high enough to go over the net in some cases so do not go crazy here. Oh and it probably goes without saying but the longer you sit there charging up your shot the more risk you run of having the puck stolen from you so be mindful of your surroundings. Alright enough talk. It is time to smack

[00:45:48] the shit out of this puck and put some points on the board. Hold down your B button and release. Damn it! Their goalie was able to stop it and grab the puck. The game switches us back to defense as the goalie passes the puck to their average Joe and it's on us to get the puck back. Well what are you waiting for? Hit your B button so you're controlling the closest player to the puck and get after it.

[00:46:18] It may not always be possible but try your best to keep in mind which player you're controlling versus the player type on the opponent's team that has the puck. If it happens to be a skinny guy he's going to be coming fast but if you can get a big guy in position he can knock him down with the power of his gut alone. Conversely if the opponent's big guy has the puck do not go sending your skinny guy over there to attack him. He'll get thrown back like a sack of potatoes

[00:46:47] and it'll be very embarrassing to say the least. Your average Joe is probably the most well-rounded in this specific situation so select him and see if you can get your hands back on that puck. As you get close you'll want to press the A button to swipe your hockey stick and try to send it flying so your team has a chance to grab it. There you go you're in position. Now attack! Damn

[00:47:16] he is a persistent one. Just don't let up keep swinging. Finally the opponent's player goes flying and the puck slides loose. Quick take possession and go back on the offensive. There you go you're back in shooting position and you don't have many opponents close to you. It's time to take another shot. Press and hold your B button to charge up a little then release.

[00:47:45] The puck goes flying towards the goal and the goalie wasn't able to stop it in time. Goal! Team USA comes together in celebration towards center ice and the word goal is seen flashing on the scoreboard at the top of the screen. The number one is next to the United States flag and we are now officially in the lead. Hell yeah!

[00:48:16] The players all take their face-off formations again and it's time to get back into the action. The ref skates out into center ice and after raising his hand drops the puck back into the center. Alright, let's keep up the pressure. The puck goes flying back towards the opponent and they quickly take possession of the puck with their skinny player. He works his way high into the outside using his speed to try and skirt around us. Well, we are not

[00:48:46] going to let that fly. Quick, we have a skinny guy near the top of the scoreboard so switch to him and intercept that puck. Alright, now get aggressive! Smash that A button and steal that puck back! Damn, he is not letting go without a fight! Just don't give up! Keep attacking! Keep up the pressure! Uh-oh! The two teams converge on the

[00:49:16] puck and an all-out fight breaks out! It is absolute pandemonium on the ice! Bodies are sent flying and players that are thrown to the side quickly get back into the fray. The crowd is losing their minds but soon the referee takes to the ice to put a stop to the brawl. The teams separate and the referee grabs hold of who he feels is the instigator who just so happens to be our player.

[00:49:46] Crap! The ref carts our player off to a penalty box at the top of the screen and we are now down to three players on the ice. Damn, now our opponents have a power play and we are at a huge disadvantage. You know, it's funny. Thinking back to playing this game when I was younger, I always loved getting into these brawls. Hockey games after this and especially the more modern ones I'm sure have more realistic

[00:50:16] rules and gameplay elements, but just the idea that you can get into a brawl in this game was just absolutely amazing to me at the time. The other notable hockey game on the NES, Blades of Steel took this mechanic even further and let you and your opponent fist fight in spectacular fashion. In ice hockey though, my cousins and I would constantly experiment with the game and we tried our best to get into as many fights as possible just for the sake of it. The referee

[00:50:46] never seemed to be very consistent with who he felt started the fight so it always seemed random who it would be that he would throw into the penalty box. Still, back in the day, kids, when video games added little elements of realism to their games like this, it absolutely was a big deal. After the fight is over, the players enter face-off formation. The referee comes back out onto the ice and it's time to resume gameplay.

[00:51:16] Alright, focus. We got this. Damn it, we do not got this. Our opponents are able to smack the puck towards them and their big guy takes possession. He's pretty close to our goal now and we can see our goalie in front of our net. Now, here's something about defense that you need to keep in mind. I assume this is more so done because of the fact that the NES controller didn't have very many buttons,

[00:51:46] but when you're moving around on defense, your goalie is moving in conjunction with you. If you move your selected defender up, your goalie is going to move up in the box. If you move your defender down, the goalie is going to move down. The balancing act of defense is knowing when to pay attention to the player that you're controlling and when you need to switch your focus to the goalie in order to block a shot. This is probably the most strategic element of actual

[00:52:16] gameplay, especially when you're playing opponent to lose track of where they need to put their attention is going to be key in scoring. Baiting your opponent in one direction so you can create an opening with their goalie in another is what the kids today call a quote-unquote pro-strat. Hey, kids, did I get that one right? They're just slowly shaking their heads at me, but I think we nailed it.

[00:52:46] Anyway, let's get our focus back onto the game. With the opponent so close to our goal and our controlled character a ways away, let's focus on our goalie. Uh-oh, eyes wide, my friend. The opponent's big guy is about to take a shot, so get ready. Quick, move up! Hell yeah, great save! Press the A button to have the goalie pass the puck to the closest teammate. Ah, damn it, their skinny guy intercepted!

[00:53:17] He's gonna shoot, watch out! Ah, son of a bitch! The opposing team gathers towards the center ice and celebrates their lucky shot, and now the score is 1-1. Looks like this is going to be a battle, my friends. Let's dust ourselves off, reset, and get our heads back in the game. There is plenty of hockey left to be played.

[00:53:47] There really isn't too much more to the overall flow of the actual game itself. Ice hockey is absolutely one of those games that you just have to experience and even if sports games aren't your thing, I'd like to think that you'd get some decent enjoyment out of this title. For me, it's not so much the playing anymore that makes the game special to me. Now, don't get me wrong, after replaying the game a few times and playing the computer in a few matches, I still think this game holds up relatively well

[00:54:17] today and is genuinely fun. But I will say, this game is much more fun with another human to play with. The computer isn't extremely hard to beat or anything, but it's much harder to bait them when playing offense and they seem to win more puck battles than you do. But when you do score against the computer, you absolutely feel a sense of accomplishment. Oh, and when I learned about a cool defensive technique that you could use, it made things a

[00:54:46] little easier. After reading through the instruction manual, which I don't think I ever had when I was a kid, I found out that if you're on defense and you continuously press the B button, your players that you aren't controlling will fall back towards your goal and strengthen your defense that way. I am pretty sure I did not know that was a thing when I was growing up, and it absolutely helps when you're playing against a computer. But going back to what makes this game fun for me are the little

[00:55:16] moments. Fights are always fun, but after the second period was over, you get to see the Zambonis. This was my favorite part of the entire game, and to this day, I have no idea why. When the time runs out on the second period, all the players automatically return to center ice. In single file, each team heads

[00:55:45] off the ice, and then, the Zambonis come! Three red and yellow Zambonis with little dudes driving them come out onto the rink and move from right to left while they clean up the ice. The music here is a nice break from the action, too, and sort of gets you pumped up for the final period of the game. It's such a stupid little thing watching these things clean up the ice, but for

[00:56:14] some reason, my cousins and I thought this was just the coolest thing. I mean, come on, I can't be the only one, right? One of you is nodding to your car radio right now, I can feel it. Again, this was such a dumb little thing, but just watching the Zambonis go across the ice just takes me back to a simpler time. There's one more cool feature to the game that I don't remember much of, but I still thought it was an awesome addition.

[00:56:43] If the game ends and the score is tied, the game transitions into a shootout where, one by one, each player from each team goes head to head with the opposing team's goalie in order to break the tie. This never happened enough for me to remember the specifics, but I think each person went through each of their players, so it wasn't who scored first, I think it was who had the highest score at the end of it all. I also vaguely remember that if the score was still tied, you

[00:57:13] would then go on to play one more period for two minutes, and then whoever had the highest score at the end of that period would be the winner when time ran out. No idea what happened if there was still a tie, but I love the addition of the shootout tiebreaker and overtime play. Again, simple gameplay mechanics by today's standards, but all of it together made Ice Hockey on the NES a competent and realistic-ish attempt at capturing the actual game in video game form.

[00:57:44] Really, it was the simplicity of this game and its pick-up-and-play nature that made it so approachable back then and so easy to get into now. And while later hockey games would introduce more mechanics and ways to play, I love that Ice Hockey on the NES was a self-contained experience. You just played a game. There's no season mode, no tracking of stats, nothing. Simple and clean. Though, I do remember sometimes

[00:58:13] playing by myself and creating a tournament bracket on paper just to keep things interesting, or there was a time I would keep track of a country's wins and losses over a period of time just for the hell of it. I found that approach to be much more fun than any season mode could ever be. You know, now that I think back to that memory, I wonder if my old notebook is still at my grandmother's house with all that stuff written in it. That would be pretty fun to find.

[00:58:43] As we start to wrap things up, I don't think there's too much more to say about ice hockey on the NES. From a presentation standpoint, the best way I can describe things is simple and clean. The character models weren't the best thing ever, but they were easy to identify so you knew which type of player you were controlling, and the color palettes were unique enough too. The bulk of the game takes place on the ice arena itself, and it looks well enough. While there isn't much music on offer, what is

[00:59:12] present fits perfectly. The music itself can get pretty repetitive, but it's still great, and I don't really find myself getting tired of it. The sound effects in this game are pretty basic too, but they work well, especially the sound of taking a powerful shot with your hockey stick. At the end of the day, everything is serviceable and solid, and while I have a lot of nostalgia for this game, I do think there are much better hockey games out there. The eternal debate as

[00:59:41] to which is the best hockey game on the NES always comes down to ice hockey and blades of steel. I vaguely remember playing blades of steel, and from what I remember seeing, I think it's the better put together hockey game, but in terms of overall fun factor, I tend to side with ice hockey. I actually put up a poll on our retro wildlands Facebook page, as well as the Superpod Lounge discord server, as a way to gauge what you all

[01:00:10] think, and the results were somewhat split down the middle. Those of you that participated on Facebook preferred ice hockey, whereas those that voted on the discord server preferred blades of steel. A big thanks, by the way, to anyone listening that indulged in my polls, I do appreciate that. Still, the title of best NES hockey game can be subjective in terms of what it is that you're looking for, and regardless of which game you do end up playing, you're gonna have a good time,

[01:00:40] that much I am sure of. Ice hockey will always be a game that takes me back in time to when life was much simpler for me. I think I took for granted all those times my cousins and I played games together at my grandmother's house. Grandma always spoiled us with good food and a warmth only a grandmother could share. Whether we were being super competitive with each other or just playing the game to mess around and have some fun, I'll never forget those moments.

[01:01:09] Now, anytime I hear the whistle from the referee, my mind goes back in time, and I remember just how good I really had it, huddled on the floor, surrounded by family.

[01:01:44] And with that, we've come to the end of our game, my friends. This has been episode 65 of the Retro Wildlands, Ice Hockey for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Thank you all very much for tuning in to the show today. It's easy to talk about how older games can bring about nostalgia and some fun memories, but the actual act of flowing through old memories and remembering past moments in your life is something that's so hard to put into words.

[01:02:13] And even though Ice Hockey for me was just a small portion of my childhood, getting whisked back in time made me remember some fun little moments that I hadn't thought about in a very long time. It doesn't matter whether a game truly is good or not, you can't put a price on nostalgia and what it can truly do to a person. Whether it's Ice Hockey, Blades of Steel, or something else for you, I hope those of you listening get to experience those moments with your favorite nostalgic game.

[01:02:42] There is no better feeling than this, my friends, and this is a huge reason why I absolutely love this hobby of ours. If you liked the show today and you want to show it and myself some support, please consider subscribing to the show on your preferred podcasting platform. The Retro Wildlands is part of the SuperPod Network, home of some awesome gaming podcasts and other gaming content, so you can follow us over there at superpodnetwork.com.

[01:03:12] Other than this show, you can check out some other awesome podcasts such as the SuperPod Saga, Retro Moe, Gaming Together, a novel console, and many more. There's blog posts, videos, and tons of other content, so be sure to check it all out by heading over to superpodnetwork.com. Now, if you really like the show today and you have a few minutes to spare, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave the Retro Wildlands a good

[01:03:42] review on your podcast platform if you're able to do so. You can leave a star rating over on Spotify, but you can also leave ratings and written reviews on iTunes, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, and Podbean, just to name a few. Good reviews will help circulate the show into more feeds, but more than anything, it'll let me know that you like what it is that I'm trying to do here, and it would mean the world to me if you could take a minute and let me know that I'm doing a good thing, and that this show makes your brain

[01:04:12] do a happy. But as always, you are under no obligation to do any of this. Just the fact that you're listening to my show right now is much more than I could have ever asked for, so above all else, thank you for being here. So, what's coming up next? As I continue to expand my NES physical collection, I find myself falling into the NES ecosystem pretty hard lately. When I picked up Ice Hockey, I also grabbed a few other

[01:04:41] goodies, and if you follow the Retro Wildlands on social media, probably have a good idea of what I got recently. But of all the games that I grabbed recently, one of them has been on my mind pretty hard. It's a game that I've been dying to see if I have the skill necessary to beat. It's another simple game, but I've always had a feeling there's more to experience than what's on the surface. And next time on the Retro Wildlands, I intend to find out exactly what it is

[01:05:09] when I tackle Kung Fu on the original Nintendo. I hope you can join us when we take our expedition to a new land and join up with Kung Fu expert Thomas as he storms the castle of Mr. X in hopes of rescuing his beloved Sylvia. It should be a good time, so I'm hoping you're able to come along with us on our next adventure. Until then, my friends, my name is Nomad, and you can find me, Roaming the

[01:05:39] Retro Wildlands.