Nerdicus NES Review #49 : Athletic World

Title : Athletic World

Publisher : Bandai

Genre : Sports / Fitness

Players : 1  / 2 Players

Release Date : 1987

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $6-$12

Before there was Wii Fit, there was ATHLETIC WORLD. Some of you may know this game as the re-hashing of that famous NES game worth thousands of dollars, STADIUM EVENTS. Well after Nintendo bought the rights to the FAMILY FUN FITNESS pad, they decided to slap their own label on it so they can market it with the power pad. In fact, you can only play this game with the power pad. Luckily I have one. SCORE! Much like the Wii Fit games, you need to actually get off your arse and move around to play this game.

I have the utmost respect for games like this. They aren't typically the most entertaining, but they do make great party or group games. Hell, even if you're an exercise freak or something, you could enjoy this type of game, as it ACTUALLY does work. I for one can speak from experience. Hell, even DDR works. Back in high school, I lost 15 lbs just playing DDR (and I wasn't dieting). I was a DDR FIEND!!! Paranoia on Maniac? 

Yeah, whatever. Cake walk.

But how does this game hold up almost 30 years later? Well, let's find out.

I wish I could have given this game a legit review, but the problem is my POWER PAD is so unreliable in terms of working when I need it that there were times where I just got so damn frustrated with the thing I wanted to quit. I know from past experiences that this game works pretty well, and the response times are decent., but with this attempt it could barely recognize me stomping on the pad (I probably ended up breaking it more). Well, hell the thing is 30 years old.

Anyway, ATHLETIC WORLD is pretty self explanatory. You choose one of several fitness theme events, and you just go at it as best as you can. You've got hurdles, hop a log, animal trail, rafting, and dark tunnel. All of them are played on the power pad differently. Some require running, some require jumping, some require step timing, etc. It's pretty well done for a game back in 1987. Don't get me wrong, the fitness games now are much better, but this still gets the job done.

I don't want to say too much about this game, as I couldn't give it the time it deserved. Plus the game glitched out on me numerous times. Besides, I know it was a decent attempt by Nintendo to get their gamers up out of their seats and into more interactive gaming. It works. And they've improved on it ten fold since the roots of FAMILY FUN FITNESS.

Keep at it Nintendo. I respect your fitness path. Just come up with better courses next time..I don't want to dodge wild boars anymore. Seriously though, the true fun lies in playing this game with friends and having drunken fitness competitions.

Buhahah! Try it.

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!