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NES/Famicom: a visual compendium

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
269 Reviews
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Regular price £29.99 GBP
Regular price Sale price £29.99 GBP

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Description

With its cutting-edge graphics and extensive catalogue of iconic games, the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES (known as the Famicom in its native Japan) played a huge part in the history of videogaming.

Nintendo’s console stormed onto the market and immediately raised the bar with classic titles such as Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem and many more. Over the course of its 20-year lifespan the console sold in excess of 60 million units, made Nintendo a household name, and introduced youngsters everywhere to whole new worlds, characters and stories. For many, this would be a turning point in their lives, leading them to become artists, game designers and programmers. It helped to popularise manga and anime among Western gamers, and brought icons of Western culture into Japanese homes. Nintendo’s little 8-bit console changed the world of entertainment forever, and its influence cannot be overstated.

NES/Famicom: a visual compendium aims to showcase the very best pixel art, box art and product design, including Japanese Famicom artwork as well as that used for Western game editions. Spread over 512 pages, it features more than 170 classic games, with articles on the leading developers, interviews with key figures in the industry and mini-features on subjects such as packaging, fan art and unreleased games. Each book comes in a 3mm protective board slipcase with animated-effect lenticular images.

Includes contributions from:
Kaz Aizawa, Martin Alessi, Mat Allen, Lance Barr,, Kevin Bayliss, Ian Bell, Colette Bennett, René Boutin, Gary Bracey, Frank Cirocco, Samuel Claiborn, Wes Copeland, David Crane, David Darling, Tom duBois, Andy Dyer, Marc Ericksen, Greg Ford, David Giltinan, Tim Girvin, Alberto J. González, Kouji Hiroshita, Machiguchi Hiroyasu, Keiji Inafune, Shigesato Itoi, Satoru Iwata, Yoshiaki Iwata, Steve Jarratt, Masashi Kageyama, Masato Kato, Sam Kennedy, Yoshio Kiya, Professor Yoshihiro Kishimoto, Koji Kondo, Scott Marshall, Damien McFerran, ‘Trickman’ Terry Minnich, Shigeru Miyamoto, Jerry Momoda, Robert Morgan, Mark Morris, Tokihiro Naito, Wes Nihei, Philip Oliver, Toru Osawa, Jared Petty, John Pickford, Ste Pickford, Julian Rignall, Andy Roberts, Perry Rodgers, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshio Sakamoto, Masahiro Sakurai, Bruce Schlickbernd, Kazuko Shibuya, David Siller (Sushi-X), Mat Sneap, Audun Sorlie, John Szczepaniak, Takashi Takebe, Gregg Tavares, Shinichiro Tomie, Michitaka Tsuruta, Masayuki Uemura, Masahiro Ueno, David Warhol, Michael Winterbauer, David Wise, Manabu Yamana, Kinuyo Yamashita and Hideo Yoshizawa.


Book Specifications

512 pages. 170mm × 230mm. 3mm protective board slipcase with “animated” lenticular fascia. Edge-to-edge high quality lithographic print. Hardback with free PDF. Sewn binding for enduring quality and the ability to lay flat for ideal double-page image viewing. Spot-varnished cover and dust jacket that highlight key elements against a matte background. Two coloured bookmark ribbons. Shrink-wrapped. Free PDF for viewing on the go. Volumetric weight: 2.5kg.

Games featured

1943: The Battle of Midway / The Addams Family / Adventures in the Magic Kingdom / The Adventures of Rad Gravity / Ai Senshi Nicol / Akumajō Densetsu / Akumajō Special / Aliens: Alien 2 / Angry Birds / Arkanoid / Astérix / Balloon Fight / Batman: Return of the Joker / Batman: The Video Game / Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril / The Battle of Olympus / Battletoads / Battletoads and Double Dragon / Bionic Commando / Blades of Steel / Blaster Master / A Boy and His Blob / Bubble Bobble / Bucky O’Hare / California Games / The California Raisins / Captain Tsubasa / Castlevania / Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest / Championship Lode Runner / Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers / Chōjin Sentai Jetman / Clash at Demonhead / Cobra Triangle / Contra / Crazy Climber / Crisis Force / Crystalis / Destiny of an Emperor / Devil World / Dezaemon / Disney’s Darkwing Duck / Disney’s TaleSpin / Disney’s The Jungle Book / Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong 3 / Donkey Kong Jr. / Double Dragon / Double Dragon II / Dr. Mario / Dragon Quest / Dragon Quest III / Dropzone / Duck Hunt / DuckTales / Elite / Excitebike / Famicom Mukashibanashi / Famicom Wars / Fantastic Dizzy / Fantasy Zone / Faxanadu / Final Fantasy / Final Fantasy II / Final Fantasy VII / Fire Emblem / Fire ’n Ice / Galaxian / Gargoyle’s Quest II / Getsu Fūma Den / Ghosts ’n Goblins / Ghoul School / Gimmick! / Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode / The Goonies II / Gradius / The Guardian Legend / Guevara / Gumshoe / Gun-Nac / Gyromite / Hard Drivin’ / Heavy Barrel / Hello Kitty Land / Hi no Tori Hououhen / Hogan’s Alley / Holy Diver / Hudson’s Adventure Island / Hydlide / Ice Climber / Ice Hockey / Jackal / Jaws / Journey to Silius / Joy Mecha Fight / Kickle Cubicle / Kid Icarus / Kirby’s Adventure / Konami Hyper Soccer / Kung-Fu / Kyatto Ninden Teyandee / Labyrinth Maou no Meikyuu / Legacy of the Wizard / The Legend of Zelda / Life Force / Little Nemo the Dream Master / Little Samson / M.C. Kids / Maniac Mansion / Mappy / Mario Bros. / Mega Man / Mega Man 2 / Mega Man 3 / Mega Man 4 / Metal Gear / Metal Storm / Metroid / Micro Machines / Mighty Final Fight / Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! / Monster Party / Moon Crystal / Mother / NES Open Tournament Golf / New Ghostbusters II / The New Zealand Story / Ninja Gaiden / Ninja Gaiden II / Pin-Bot / Popeye / Power Blade / Princess Tomato / Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium ’87 / R.C. Pro-Am / Rad Racer / Rampart / Rescue: The Embassy Mission / Ring King / River City Ransom / RoboCop / RoboCop vs. Terminator / ROM City Rampage / Rush’n Attack / Rygar / Shadowgate / Shatterhand / Skate or Die! / Snake Rattle ’n’ Roll / Snow Bros. / Solar Jetman / Solstice / Somari / Splatterhouse / Star Versus / StarTropics / Summer Carnival ’92: Recca / Sunman/Superman / Super Bat Puncher / Super C / Super Dodge Ball / Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros. 2 / Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Spike V’Ball / Super Spy Hunter / Super Star Force / Super Turrican / Sweet Home / Tecmo Bowl / Tecmo Super Bowl / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II / Tetris / Track & Field / Trog! / Ufouria: The Saga / Vice Project Doom / Wizards & Warriors / Wonderland Dizzy / Woody Poco / Xevious / Yume Kōjo Doki Doki Panikku / Zelda II: The Adventure of Link / and unreleased games

Shipping

At Bitmap we want our packaging to protect your books to the extreme, while also being affordable, memorable and sustainable. Equally, we want shipping that’s reliable, fast and economical. More details can be found here.

Reprint Updates

In this latest reprint of NES/Famicom: a visual compendium, we’ve updated the Nintendo feature to reflect the demise of the Wii U, as well as the introduction of the Switch and, of course, the NES Classic Edition. Contributor entries now include their role in the game or profession, in line with more recent visual compendiums. The first edition’s gatefold pages have been removed, but the content is, of course, retained.

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
Based on 269 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 264 Total 4 star reviews: 5 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
100%would recommend this product
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269 reviews
  • BJ
    Bart J.
    Flag of United Kingdom
    Verified Buyer
    1 week ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Lovely book

    Simply glorious ! Fantastic quality, as usual from Bitmap Books. My library is growing quickly.

    I was pleasantly surprised by a hard-plastic lenticular printing plate on the slip case (close up photo attached). Such a nice touch !

    I honestly would have paid twice the price for this book. Nostalgia kicks in every time I read it. Highly recommended, especially considering value for money on offer here.

  • BS
    Brandon S.
    Flag of United States
    Verified Buyer
    2 weeks ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Surpassed All Expectations

    I love games and started collecting art books recently. Bitmap Books has a commitment to quality you don't see with big retailers like Amazon. The shipping and packaging is done with incredible care and is worth every penny, my books arrived in perfect condition.

    The books themselves are amazing. The NES Compendium in particular comes with a really nice hard case that has a lenticular cover. The spine of the actual book feels incredibly solid and the binding is done very well, far better than the Prima guides we used to have when I was a kid. Inside the NES Conpendium is every game I played as a kid and many more. The spreads are really well designed and look great on every page. I think this format in particular works really well for these nostalgia collection books and I will definitely be checking out more in the series!

  • HA
    Hamed a.
    Flag of Oman
    Verified Buyer
    1 year ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    You are not a retro gamer if you are don't know BITMAP books !!

    Really i have been enjoying Bitmap Books , this one the Third Book im buying ad i love it

  • CP
    Cherrieh P.
    Flag of United States
    Verified Buyer
    1 year ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Immediately evident: This is a book crafted with love

    Even though I haven't had a chance to fully go from cover to cover of this book, what will be evident to anyone who picks up or any Bitmap Books work is that not only is this a book for & by video game enthusiasts, but that the people who produced these books are book designers at the top of their craft. I feel very lucky to live in a time where I'm in a possession of such beautiful cultural tributes and artifacts.

  • GM
    Gregory Mora P.
    Flag of Canada
    Verified Buyer
    1 year ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    EXCELLENT Visual Compilation.

    The first thing that caught my attention is that it arrived perfectly packaged, it is seen that they take the time to pack each book properly.

    As soon as I opened the package, I checked the corners of the book and everything was perfect.

    Then when I opened the book, I was impressed by the quality of the print, and the quality of the paper, it reminded me of the old anatomy encyclopedias, everything looks Super CLEAR and detailed.

    I recommend it 100%, not only this book but any you see from Bitmap Books, the price is according to the quality, I would say that it is super accessible for the quality of content, materials and the service is A+++

    Buy it with confidence, you won't regret it.

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