Where's that poll?

You conveniently ignored the second part of that sentence -- "over any of their own games, or .. other IP"

Unless you're going to suggest they made more money through 3rd party titles than through their own 1st party titles.

Games with heavily popular licenses were plentiful on the NES and lot of them quickly revealed their true nature once played: hot garbage. And these games were rightfully tossed in the shit pile soon after, never to be played again by their owners. I'm thinking about titles like Back to the Future, Robocop or hell, most WWF games.

So yeah, even if TMNT didn't have its license, there's competent gameplay there. So the situation here is we have a game that sold well because of its license more than for its own merit; sure it was hard and frustrating, but then people kept playing it. And not just because it was TMNT.

My guess is that if it was a generic action platformer without the TMNT license, this game would have initially sold poorly and be heavily sought after as a valuable hidden gem today.

I agree.  For the variety of gameplay modes, the novelty of switching between somewhat unique characters, and the overall scope of the game this would absolutely have popped up as a "hidden gem" if it had never carried the TMNT license.
 

I think it probably would have been another Wrath of the Black Manta or Snake's Revenge, loved and appreciated by a few but mostly ignored and forgotten by everyone else.

Was 1989 the dryest year for good NES releases in North America?

All the Simpsons games on NES beat the garbage games you guys listed

My three favorites came out that year: Tetris, Marble Madness and Ninja Gaiden.

And Bad Street Brawler is actually kind of fun.

 

I grew up with Turtles as well. My opinion is that the game does have merit, and we did enjoy playing the first couple of levels over and over as kids (yes, including the water level which ISN'T that hard). But, even then it was never a true favourite, because we simply couldn't get very far, so it always got turned off after half an hour or so to play something else.

To this day I've not figured out how to get any further than the bit where you're driving around in the turtlevan. I know how to find a few levels, but they never seem to lead anywhere, and I found a rooftop but I don't know what to do. I could look it up, but the game's brutally unfair IMO, so I can't be bothered.





P.S. To those guys who keep spreading rumors that the PAL version of Dragon's Lair is actually good, PLEASE stop! My friend had that one and we never got past the first screen. It sucks just as hard.

Yes, you have to find the ropes first. If you have ropes on the rooftop he will throw them like a grappling hook and you can pass over. There's a boss there at the end and you can rescue Splinter. 

After that there's a like a military plane base level... and then there's this weird stealth level where you have to find the Technodrome, which is hidden in random places every time. Then there's the Technodrome level. 

I think if one actually spends some time as an adult and try to beat it you can see its a pretty good game. A more extreme example of the same is Battletoads. I think those who gave up on the Turbo Tunnel seem to hate it, but those who really put the effort into getting far into it see its a great game. 

Baseball Stars, Battle of Olympus, Blaster Master, Dragon Warrior, Faxanadu, Ducktales, Mega Man 2, Guardian Legend, Guerilla War, Super Dodgeball, Willow. There was a fair amount of decent releases.

 

I’ve been wanting to give Gettsu Fuumaden a try because it looks similar to turtles 1 gameplay minus the ninja turtles.

But do they stack up with the other years?

Depends on the year.

1985 yes - 18 games. A few classics like SMB, ExciteBike, Kung Fu, and maybe a Zapper game or two, but the first year had a lot of mediocrity.
1986 yes - only 17 games. Gradius, Ghosts N Goblins, Balloon Fight and DK Jr are good, but I wouldn't trade it for 1989.
1987 no - probably not with Zelda, Castlevania, Metroid, MTPO in the mix.
1988 maybe - you had Jackal, Gun.Smoke, Zelda II, SMB 2, and some others, but not an overwhelming year. I'd say it's a toss up.
1990 no - the NES's best year and most prolific in terms of games.
1991 no - a surprising number of great games, even after the SNES dropped.
1992 yes - Taito had some awesome games, but this was the rise of a lot of quick-cash-it-in publishers. I'm looking at you, THQ.
1993 yes - Kirby's Adventure and F2 were highlights, but definitely doesn't top 1989.
1994 yes - MM6, Tournament Fighters and Zoda's Revenge, and a whole lot of "well, dust this off and see if it sells while people still remember they own an NES."
 

I'm impressed the NES kept going three years after the SNES' release. When Nintendo/NP said they'd support both systems, they meant it. Especially useful for those stubborn parents like mine at the time who wouldn't get me a SNES for Christmas because I "already have a Nintendo".  

It is kind of weird to think back between that 1991-1994 time period, when both systems were cranking out games. I feel like a lot of kids still had the NES and didn't upgrade yet; plenty of friends in elementary school at the time had top loaders. What a weird time for the NES!

 

Yeah my next door neighbor was still NES/Game Boy only in those years, he would come to my house to play SNES and I would go to his house to play NES and Game Boy. I still remember him getting Mega Man 5 & 6 when they were brand new and playing through them with him and his sisters. I moved in '94 so those are some of my last memories of hanging out there.

I bought my Top Loader at Kay Bee Toys brand new Summer of '97 for the same $49.99 price it launched at in 1993. I vividly remember it was the last one on their shelf. Bought Final Fantasy, Zelda II & Yoshi's Cookie brand new that same year. I already had an N64 by then. Nintendo has sales numbers for the Top Loader systems going to 1998. NES lasted a long time in North America, Virtual Boy stuff disappeared from retail shelves before the NES did

I remember getting a copy of Gun nac from my uncle for Christmas 1993. At the time I was kind of bummed because I had an SNES. Now, I am grateful to have that game in my collection.

Edit: On the topic, I played TMNT II first. When I tried TMNT, it was so hard to like it since they played differently.

And for the record, regarding the 1993 top loader commercial, no granny I know would send you a check for $49.95. She might send you one for $50 (if you were a good boy and were real nice to her and all that of course) but certainly not for some weird amount like $49.95