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Inspired by classic gaming Magazines
Immerse yourself in an alternate history where the games on the Japanese Famicom were reviewed in English-language magazines. Where strategy guides and hint books existed for Japan exclusives, which taught you not only how to play but even how to read the Japanese text in the games.
Beyond the NES is inspired by the classic gaming magazines that we read growing up in the 1980s/1990s. Every page is lovingly crafted as an homage to the original gaming magazines, strategy guides, and hint books of the era. But unlike the magazines of the past, Beyond the NES covers the English-friendly games that didn’t make it to the west.
Every spread strives for true period authenticity. Whenever possible, all screenshots, cartridges, box covers, logos and artwork are scanned at archival quality from original sources. Hint guides are designed to mimic the information as it was presented in the original game manual, with the more spoiler-filled hints being clearly labeled as such. Walkthroughs are written to only give you information at the same time that the game’s original design gave it to you, while encouraging you to figure out the puzzles by yourself before looking at the guide for the answer. Beyond the NES is a true labor of love from a lifelong 8-bit gamer!
A famicom celebration!
Many people are introduced to the Famicom’s vast library of over 1000 games through trial-and-error. They buy a game that “looks cool”, only to find it’s a text adventure or a complex story-driven RPG. Sometimes they’ll get into a game, but get stuck and can’t find any English-language resources to help get unstuck. Hidden underneath this stack of hard-to-play games are hundreds of excellent titles that were never released in the west. Some of them are in full English, while others don’t require you to read any of the Japanese text to enjoy the game. The goal of this book is to do the hard work for you: we sifted through all of the games and recommend the best and most interesting games on the console.
Most English-language Famicom resources focus on being a complete compendium of all games for the console. Beyond the NES is different: we spend more time diving deep into the games you’ll actually want to play! This allows us to focus on the positive aspects of each game. At Syncoplay, we don’t do “rage reviews” or hit pieces. Instead, we act as a guide to help you find new games that you may not have even known they existed.
Download the 32-Page MINI BOOK Now!
Be the first to get news about the full 250+ page collector’s hardback featuring hundreds of games plus interviews, articles and walkthroughs for the best English-language introduction to the Famicom library!