Nerdicus NES Review #186: Double Dare

Title : Double Dare

Publisher : GameTek

Developer : RARE

Genre : Game Show

Players : 1 / 2 Players

Release Date : 1990

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $10 - $15

Ahhh, the memories of childhood afternoons watching Nickelodeon. All the great shows were on that channel. You had Weinerville, Nick Arcade, Eureka's Castle, Legend's of the Hidden Temple, GUTS, and of course, DOUBLE DARE. Sure these were the "live action" shows, and I don't even have to get into the list of cartoons. When you were a kid, your life REVOLVED around Nickelodeon.

Channel 22 for the old school cable box users who had that old switch box. AM I RIGHT!?

 When you tell me that Nintendo released a DOUBLE DARE game, I can't help but think that this is going to be my only opportunity to take part in the show that every kid dreamed of.

You'd be lying if you said you didn't want to crawl through an ear canal filled with gooey wax just to grab a flag. And who DIDN'T want to get slimed!? I remember going to Nickelodeon Studios in Florida and begging...no...PLEADING with my parent's to take my to a live taping. Never did....ah well. Guess I had to stick with the TV. 

So, when this game came out, I had to play it like there was no tomorrow. In fact, it came out for DOS in 1988, but I don't even remember having a computer back then, so I must have only played it on the Nintendo. Sure, it's Double Dare...but you can't even compare it to the TV show.

This is the type of game that you practically NEED to play with a friend. After all, it's the closest you're going to get to a real live Double Dare competition, so you need to bring your friend in on it. Complaint #1 however...that does NOT look like Mark Summers. And it's weird how your forced to choose one of each gender...did Double Dare only pick out the generic American Family with a Mom, Dad, Bro and Sis?! Seriously!?

It plays out just like the TV show however, with 2 rounds of 10 trivia questions (which are utterly random) and of course the Obstacle Course. In between trivia questions, there's also the "challenge" obstacles that you'll have to play and those were always the best. Gotta love it when the families said in unison....after whispering to each other of course...PHYSICAL CHALLENGE. BRING IT ON SUMMERS!!!!

Speaking of Summers...who remembers Summer Sanders...I had a little bit of a crush on her lol.

Trivia rounds are preceded by toss up challenges where you'll do a basic "physical hit the target challenger" Winner gets control of the "board" so it's not that really a big deal. But forget about that, let's get into the mechanics.

The trivia section is fine...it's like Jeopardy. But no one cares about the Trivia portion. It's all about the physical challenges, and here is where the game flounders. The controls are clunky, and it is incredibly sluggish. All the kids must not be physically adept because they run as if they are weighted down with cement shoes.

But at least they do pull a lot of the obstacles from the TV show. You'll encounter these if you make it to the last obstacle course (which you'll lose anyway, just like 99% of the kids on the show)

ONE TON HUMAN HAMSTER WHEEL
DALLAS OIL SLICK
THE TANK
MONKEY BARS
MOUNT ST DOUBLE DARE
FIREMANS FLAGPOLE
MOON WALK

Of course, if you do win, you'll be granted some killer prizes that'll pop out of the back of your NES console. That would be incredible, right?

What can you expect from a game like this? Not much, but as a kid you expected the world. Graphically, it's meh. The soundtrack is okay. But it's the controls and speed that kill it. It's the slowest moving "race" against the clock in a physical based game show.

Still, it does kick up a lot of nostalgia, and it's not THAT bad. Best with a friend, so you can goof off on how you wish you were actually on the show. DARE....DOUBLE DARE!

Final Score (out of 5)



Until Next Time, Keep On Gaming!