An NES game from 1989 has been re-released on PS5, and PlayStation fans are loving it, or at least that is what its 5/5 perfect score on the PlayStation Store suggests so far. It’s based on a small number of user reviews, but still to have only 5/5s for every review is noteworthy, and other new releases with small numbers of reviews don’t manage this, or at least the overwhelming majority don’t. It may help that the NES Classic is only $9.99, a fairly consumer-friendly price point, but what helps more is that it is not only deeply nostalgic, but it holds up quite well, even if primitive and rudimentary by modern game standards.
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The new re-release comes from Hamster as part of its Arcade Archives series, but the original game comes from Technos Japan, the studio best-known for the Double Dragon series. It is also a studio that no longer exists. Before this, though, in the middle of Double Dragon, it released V’Ball, a volleyball game where players play as two local beach bums who end up entertaining a national volleyball tournament with a big money prize on the line. Those who played the game on NES may remember picking from multiple teams, but this was in the NES version. This is technically the arcade version where there was only one team. Meanwhile, what old heads won’t remember, whether they played the NES version or the arcade version, are the various new modes that have been added. Meanwhile, this new version looks closer to the arcade original than the NES version did thanks to the addition of Variable Refresh Rate.
1989 Nostalgia
As alluded to, nostalgia aside, V’Ball is scoring so well with PS5 users because it’s still a very good, albeit simple, game. For one, it’s easy to learn, as the volleyball is simply jump, block, dive, and set. It’s simple to learn, but there is a learning curve with timing and placement.
It also helps that there are next to no volleyball games ever made anymore, beach or otherwise, mostly because the sport isn’t as popular as it used to be, and because it doesn’t lend itself to a fully fledged modern game as well as other sports.
It can also be played with up to four players, and this is the best way to play it, as humans are more unpredictable and varied than the game’s AI is. And because it is so simple to learn, just about anyone can pick it up, play it, and be somewhat competitive in it. It’s a 1989 arcade game though, so it is rough around the edges, it’s pretty limited, and it’s pretty reptitive. It’s not meant for long sessions, but quick, irregular sessions. Meanwhile, those after nostalgia on the PS5, but not this old of nostalgia, there is now a PS2 game available on PS5 for just $4.
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