Duck Hunt was the only Nintendo game I ever played which required the Zapper. I spent more time shooting at the dog then I did the ducks. It was fun, and I wasted hours of my life playing it. That said, it wasn’t the only system to utilize the light gun, and it was far from the strangest.
Released in 1986, Gumshoe was a peculiar game. You played as a retired detective named Mr. Stevenson whose daughter was kidnapped by King Dom, a mafia boss. To rescue her, you had to locate five diamonds. One was located in the jungle, one at sea, one in the city, and one in the air. he last was inside a monster named Zullie. Because what good mafia story doesn’t have a monster in it?
In addition to utilizing the Zapper, the game was a side scrolling platformer. You shot enemies as you moved through the level, and jumped over obstacles by shooting Mr. Stevenson himself. What made the game particularly challenging was the fact that it had no saves or passwords. You also were only given three lives. Colliding with an object, falling or failing to complete a level within the time limit would result in the loss of a life. You also had to contend with a limited number of bullets. To earn more, you had to capture red balloons.
It was a notoriously difficult game, and was notable in that it was released for the NES, but not for the Famicom system in Japan.
And that my friends is the newest entry into the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Until next time, I remain…
Just Another Geek in the Geek Kingdom
