What do you get when you cross a Scottish Videogame journalist, a love Nintendo home consoles and a penchant for really bad jokes? The answer, gentle reader, are these two volumes: The NES Encyclopedia and The SNES Encyclopedia.
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| A fine looking pair as ever I saw... |
The NES volume was first to be published way back(!) in 2018 - look, it's been a long 2020/21 so far. Three years ago seems like ancient history! The paperback copy runs to just over 270 pages and covers every game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (so US and PAL regions). That's over 850 licensed (and unlicensed) titles! The format is simple: each title gets at least a quarter page, some get a half page and the more notable titles get a full page. There's a screenshot for each one (and maybe some box artwork) and a write up by Mr Scullion. It is here where the brilliance of this book lies.
You see, he achieves the goal of writing about hundreds of games (sometimes very similar games, be it in theme, style or subject) and makes each entry unique, funny and, most of all, informative. There is a level of snark here that entertains and pokes fun at storylines, character actions and just the sheer weirdness of 1980's videogames. There are also nods and winks to the reader, especially when he touches on the subject of future books, and all in all, whilst you may not want to read this cover to cover in a few sittings, it's no chore at all to try and do so.
In addition, each entry also gets a FACT that can give a bit more background to the game, the developers, the publishers or basically any related piece of trivia linked to the entry. The sense of humour that pervades the main entries is present and correct here too.
It would be remiss of me to fail to mention the foreword supplied by Julian "Jaz" Rignall of Zzap!64, Computer and Video Games and Mean Machines fame. This is a nice touch and, as someone who devoured CVG and Mean Machines during school breaks, was a nostalgic link to the era.
All told, this is a lovely volume of gaming knowledge that all Nintendo fans should have on their bookshelves. Those with an interest in the history of videogaming in general should also pick this up as it details many of the key titles that defined the resurgence of videogames in the 1980's.
The SNES Encyclopedia (published in 2020) is more of the same (except in hardback this time - the paperback is due out at the end of June). Covering all 780 Super Nintendo Entertainment System titles released in the west plus a bonus section on the 22 games released for the unsuccessful Virtual Boy console, the format remains the same: quarter, half and full page entries, screenshots, maybe some box art and those FACT's. The main change is the foreword, this time written by former Rare employee Kevin Bayliss. As Rare produced some truly magnificent titles on the SNES, this is another nice touch.
What has not changed, and nor should they, are the jokes. Some are groan inducing in the extreme and all the more funnier for it. Add those to the light snark in every entry and it's a winning combination. As with the NES volume, this should be on any self-respecting gamers bookshelf. Truth be told, I have been inspired to search out several NES and SNES titles to review for Retrovideogamer.co.uk as I am starting to flag a little with all of that 3DO goodness(!). Might hint to the author that he should consider a 3DO volume...
But wait, as the great Mr Carson (Frank, not Willie) once said, there's more!
Not to be left out, the Mega Drive and Genesis Encyclopedia is due for release in September (it's on my Amazon Wishlist) and Mr Scullion has already announced an N64 themed tome for next year (as well as a book on platformers) and teased several more unnamed titles. I very much look forward to these and I know that these two Nintendo-themed books will remain in the gaming section of my bookcase for many years to come.
You can order these two books via that little-known online purveyor of tomes or from your local bookshop. You can also follow the author on Twitter here which I suggest you do. He currently works for Video Games Chronicle as their Features Editor and runs his own website, Tired Old Hack. Both are worthy of your time if videogames are your thing.
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