"Jack Sparrow just don't know!"

Pirates!

Another reviewer said that this is the most underrated game on the entire NES Console. I have to completely agree with that! I don't remember when I picked up this game, I must have been 12 or 13 or so…but I'm so glad I did. This is one of those games that can go so many different ways. You can start off by simply catching pirates and looking for treasure or you can go a more political route and try to max out your ranking with all governments (of which there are 4, England, Spain, French and Dutch) or you can just go full on Privateer and kill everything and take everything. The game design and play are relatively simply and easy, but it also has certain je ne sais quoi that makes me say; “ok, one more career…..one more…..one more….one mo….when did I grow this beard!?”

Of course the game gets even more challenging when one switches through the easier levels to the harder ones….the biggest challenge, and quite possibly my most fondest and hated one is the wind. On the easier levels the wind simply blows. It doesn't affect you at all. The harder the level, the more the wind (as in real life) affects you…and by the time you're on Swashbuckler Level …you're cursing Poseidon because you're fighting the sea, not just other ships, to go from port to port, adding to a realism to the game.

This game takes quite a bit of strategy, lucky and opportunity, for me, it's as fun now (after playing SNES, Saga, Playstation 1-3, GameCube, Xbox and Wii) as it was playing it for the first time, before the others were even invented yet. I would have to say that this is one of the top 3 games of all times for me, especially because of the replayability.

If you've not played this game, I suggest you at least try it, if you like open play games (games that don't have a set do this, then this, then this, end…sort of play to it) strategy and you just feel like showing Cpt. Jack Sparrow how it's really done.

I invite you to party like it's 1599 with me, throw down on some sea battles, sword fights, a mutiny or two and maybe rob the Treasure Fleet (the sea bank that went from port to port), find your long lost family, unbury some treasure and make a name for yourself.

You won't be sorry.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/10

Game Release: Pirates! (US, October 1991)