When
I first played Track and Field II on the NES
so many years ago, I couldn't believe the graphics. Now, I still can't
believe the graphics, but NOT IN A GOOD WAY. I picked this game up again
for a whopping $2, at FunCoLand, which usually prices games a bit high.
All the quality games go in the "please steal me" bin, which is where
I found this gem.
Anyway, there's about a billion events in Track and Field 2. The events
are themed after Olympic events, or (as the title suggests) track and field
events. All of them involve mashing buttons. Your fingers will
be sore, unless you have the NES Max. Basically, fencing and the karate
event are identical in that you hold down the turbo button and the right
arrow. In karate (Tae Kwon Do, actually), the action is interrupted about
every two seconds when your opponent falls to the floor in a heap. I
remembered that as being cool - my memory is flawed. It sucks.
The running, pole vaulting, high jump, etc etc events are all the same,
too. That is to say, they're all similarly terrible. There's a
certain satisfaction in them - they remind me a lot of Track and Field, where
you and a buddy mash buttons at the same time to win a foot race. But the
magic of this style of play (alternating mashing of buttons) fades fast.
You start to realize "Hey! I'm never going to get this time of my
life BACK!"
The artwork in the game has gone from incredible to interesting over the
years. I am still amazed by what they could manage to do with 16 on screen
colors, and the sprite size (size of the characters) was huge, relative to other
NES games. They really did have some talented people working on Track and
Field 2. It's also not flawed in terms of gameplay - I don't LIKE the
game, but at least I was able to pick it up again, after all these years, with
no instruction manual. Even playing the Archery section wasn't like brain
surgery. I was happy to be able to play something that wasn't bottom of
the barrel bad. I have a sneaking suspicion that this game will sit on my
shelf for some time before I pick it up again, though.
I give Track and Field 2 a 4/10. Not hideous, but still a
failure.
Other Screen Shots: Archery
| Fencing
| Title
Screen