facattack
Veteran Member
I could be wrong, but I don't believe there were many side-scrolling games on game systems before the NES came out. I have an Intelivision game pad that plugs into a TV. Don't think there were any side-scrollers on that.
But the other thing was NES games were much more colorful as well. (Witness the differences between Mario Bros. on Atari 2600 and Super Mario Bros. on NES.) Other early NES games like Kid Icarus & Metroid also scrolled vertically and even allowed you to backtrack to areas you were before to find newer items.
Game systems before the NES just had static screens that might load up another screen after you completed the level. NES games were also more complex, providing goals more complicated than just acquiring a high score. Witness the licensed game Faxanadu where you armed a simple peasant with armor and magical spells as the game progressed.
But the other thing was NES games were much more colorful as well. (Witness the differences between Mario Bros. on Atari 2600 and Super Mario Bros. on NES.) Other early NES games like Kid Icarus & Metroid also scrolled vertically and even allowed you to backtrack to areas you were before to find newer items.
Game systems before the NES just had static screens that might load up another screen after you completed the level. NES games were also more complex, providing goals more complicated than just acquiring a high score. Witness the licensed game Faxanadu where you armed a simple peasant with armor and magical spells as the game progressed.