Elite NES (1991)

Elite, initial predecessor to the more well-known Elite Dangerous, was a game originally released in 1984 on the BBC Micro, where it gained success in the UK for being a completely mind-boggling display of graphics. It was fascinating for being a 3D game, even way before the "pseudo 3D" game Doom in 1993. This was, for all intents and purposes, a lite "Doom" of its time, just not quite as popular.

In 1991 the game was released on the NES exclusively in Europe. The NES version includes more colors, a better designed UI, music, and I think they also added some neat things like the character portrait of your captain.

Unfortunately the NES port of Elite is an incredibly rare find and I have not been able to find a cartridge anywhere online or physically. Nevertheless, I made a recording of the ROM to keep a video of it around for history's sake, since the ROM for the game is also not on Vimm's Lair and I don't know how long the place I personally get my ROMs from will be around. Nobody, not even Frontier, sells this version of the game anymore and I personally believe that records of it are vital as it is a monumentally wonderful game for its time.
Elite is a space trading simulator game. In it, you are a captain stationed around the planet Lave. Your goal is to travel as far as you can out to the different planets of the galaxy to trade your goods with other space stations and gain enough money to maximize the capabilities of your ship. All the while, space pirates will attempt to destroy your ship and steal your goods or you may, whether it's intentionally or unintentionally, get the unlucky attention of the law.

My general strategy whenever I boot this up is to head straight to Leesti. Sometimes it's a pretty good planet to trade on initially, so I drop my items off there and head straight to Diso. Most of the time, Diso's prices are a little lower than Leesti's prices so it's a nice place to get a good start.

After this point, I have no idea where to go. I have never sat down and played the game long enough to plan further than that so I usually just end it there and leave satisfied.

Either way, this game is a nice treat! It's surprisingly pretty solid for a very experimental game from 1984. I dig it and think it deserves lots of love. It's not as good as its sequel Elite Dangerous but it sure is a nice little time for a look back to what was going on with games as far back as the 1980s. Give it a whirl if you so choose, I just recommend the NES version of the game above all else. It's got everything you need to enjoy the original Elite in its entirety.

Видео Elite NES (1991) канала ATOMIC the Crow