Q*Bert on the NES, A Good Version of a Classic Game

Q*Bert is a classic arcade game from Williams. It has been ported to many systems over the years, and often, the ports struggle to get the controls right. It is a fun arcade game, and I’m hoping the NES port is decent.

TLDR: A Decent Port of a Classic Arcade Game.

Gameplay

The gameplay is what you should expect from a port of an arcade game. This port was released in 1989, and little was done to change the game. However, one big thing was added to the game that, I think, makes it an excellent port.

You can change the control scheme. This is awesome because Q*Bert’s controls don’t translate well to a D-Pad. It is much better than the controls on the game’s Atari 2600 and Gameboy ports.

There is also a two-player mode in the game. This is a fun idea to add to the game, but I didn’t bother to test it out.

Like other versions of Q*Bert, you jump around on a pyramid, avoid enemies, and have two little teleport disks that can bring you back to the top of the pyramid. At 6000 points, you gain another life and earn another life after each 12000 points. This game is all about the high score.

You can jump off the sides of the playfield by mistake. This happened to me a few times when I was trying to get on the disks. It is one of those things that I love and hate about Q*Bert.

This is a decent port of the game. Like many other versions of arcade games that were ported to the NES, some liberties were taken. The control scheme was the biggest change from the arcade game. However, it is nice that the developers gave the player some options to change the control scheme.  

Visuals

The game looks really good. It is bright and colorful, even if it doesn’t look as good as the arcade game. This is another great port of an early 1980s arcade game to the NES.

7.5/10. This port of the game has good graphics, but it suffers from the same issues that other ports of Q*Bert suffer from. Translating the diagonal joystick to a D-Pad causes some problems.

Pros

• Multiple control schemes
• Good Graphics
• Two-Player Mode

Cons

• No Story
• No additional Game Modes
• Repetitive

Conclusion

Q*Bert is one of my favorite games from the early 1980s. I still prefer BurgerTime and Galaga, but this is a great game. Unfortunately, translating the game’s control scheme to the home console has been difficult.

I like that this game has been ported to the NES. I wonder why Q*Bert’s Cubes hasn’t been brought to as many systems. I don’t hear much about that game. Thankfully, the Harder, Faster, More Challenging port of the game has been put on the internet.

I like the NES version of the game. It isn’t anything special, but it is fun to play. I’m glad I played this version, which is much better than the Atari 2600 and Gameboy versions.