Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit is the third video game starring the famously foul-mouthed YouTube retro video game critic. The first two, developed by FreakZone Games, had a vaguely retro aesthetic gameplay style, but as the title states, this entry is more closely based on 8-bit NES games; very explicitly, it’s basically Mega Man.
There are actually two separate Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit titles – an authentic NES game that can be run on actual hardware, developed by Megacat Studios, an indie company that specializes in aftermarket retro games; and a modern version for computer and console platforms developed by Programancer, a developer who specializes in 8-bit style games like Prison City. While both games are similar, the console/computer version is a little more visually advanced, despite being designed to look and feel like a retro game. It also includes several FMV sequences starring the Angry Video Game Nerd, who comments on your progress throughout the game. The main goal is to defeat Super Mega Death Christ, who’s possessed the Nerd’s NES and needs to be driven out.
The game’s six main stages are set up just like Mega Man, allowing you to play through them in any order, and each focusing on a unique boss. The Devil is based on Red Arremer, and the stage theme is taken more or less straight from Ghosts ‘n Goblins, although you also have a few encounters with a haunted NES cartridge. T. P. is based on the infamous E. T. game, though the actual level takes place in some enormous colon, allowing for plenty of poop gags. The demon mask Letule is from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with a level taking place in 19th century England. It even switches horizontal scrolling directions during the stage, much like the game it’s based on it. Festerdrome is an enormous tank featuring the face of Uncle Fester (technically from The Addams Family but more explicitly from the NES game Fester’s Quest), though the actual level is closer to Castlevania. F-14 Tomcat is the jet fighter from Top Gun, but the stage feels more like Air Man from Mega Man 2. Speziman is a parody of Pepsiman, and is the outlier in that it’s from a PlayStation game rather than an NES game; its level is more based on The Terminator, with skeletal robots defending a soda factory. Once these are all cleared, then it’s onto Super Mega Death Christ, which takes place in a halfway-broken game world filled with glitched graphics.
The visuals capture the 8-bit NES look well. The soundtrack is fine but doesn’t leave much of an impression outside the chiptune rendition of the theme song, but it’s always amusing to hear the Nerd’s iconic catchphrase “Ass!” yelled as a low quality sampled digitized voice. Many enemies are taken from assorted titles that the Nerd has riffed on in the past, like the weird looking dragon thing from the Atari 2600 Adventure or the rat and pig enemies from Battletoads.
Again, the gameplay is basically Mega Man, with his skills based on the third game where he can slide. However, the Nerd doesn’t earn weapons from defeated bosses, but rather powers up his Zapper-like gun by grabbing power-ups. The more you grab, the stronger it gets, with the gun patterns based on Fester’s Quest. At the max level, you can blast through almost anything, but when you take a hit, you’ll drop a bit of weapon strength. You can try to pick it up to reclaim it, but it often bounces so far away and disappears so quickly that they can be hard to recover. You can grab an extra power-up to grant the Nerd a Super Scope/LaserScope combo, which lets you fire charge shots. You’ll find a few other subweapons, like throwable beer bottles tossed an arc, and other typical items to destroy all of the enemies on the screen or grant temporary invulnerability.
Compared to most other 8-bit action games, this game is actually isn’t all that difficult, at least on the Normal difficulty. In fact, when you’re down to your last life, you’re gifted a Shit Pickle power-up, which increases your weapon strength a bit and also automatically attacks enemies on the screen. However, there are still some annoyances typical of the era. Boss fights don’t grant weapon power-ups, so if you die and restart a new life, you’ll have to fight at the lowest level. The only truly difficult boss is the Super Mega Death Christ, who can only be damaged when it reveals its weak spot, so you spend most of this encounter dodging its attacks until it becomes vulnerable. A few regular enemies also have long invulnerability windows and quick attack frames, making them hard to attack without taking damage.
The game’s seven levels are entertaining, but compared to the earlier AVGN games, which had dozens of smaller, more challenging stages, it feels a little thin. To accompany the main game is the roguelite-esque Endless Mode, which sews together randomized parts from different stages (and occasionally parts from other Programancer games), escalating in difficulty after defeating boss battles. Here, you also gain gold that you can use at the Game Weenie shop to help you along. It’s inventive but it still feels like it could’ve used more variety.
To anyone unfamiliar with the AVGN’s shtick, this 8-bit entry will probably come off as a vulgar but alright Mega Man clone. The Nerd in the FMV cutscenes seems convinced that it’s typical of the junk he hyperbolically lambasts, but it’s actually a decent time. Obviously, fans will get the most out of the references, but even general kusoge enjoyers can have some fun.
