" Murder, mayhem, intrigue and high adventure on the spanish main!!"

Pirates! is one of the best games for the NES, or any other system for that matter. It brilliantly combines open ended gameplay, exploration, sim-like micromanagement, navigation and even the basics of merchantilsim. There is enough gameplay here for hours!

GAMEPLAY: EASILY the best part of Pirates! is it's sterling gameplay. I really am surprised at the complexity, detail and vastness of this game, given the severe limits of the NES processor. There is just a ton of stuff to do. You start out with one ship and from there your options are limitless! You could wage war on any of the 4 nations ( English, Dutch, French, or the evil Spanish), capture ships and their crews, hunt for buried pirate booty, woo a governor's daughter, conduct daring raids on enemy towns, rescue lost family members, get into duels, become a merchant and buy low-sell high, become a pirate hunter, hunt for lost incan gold, gain fame and prestige by gaining rank with any of the 4 nations, or just become an out-and-out pirate, one who attacks anything that moves. Depending on the successes of your exploits, you will eventually retire into fame, fortune and riches with an exciting wife, or resign in disgrace, friendless, penniless or worse, die on the open sea. Pirates! is an intensely rewarding NES experience that should not be passed up! One thing to remember: travelling east is a pain because of the westward wind. It'll drive you NUTS!

GRAPHICS: This is the NES we're talking about, so we shouldn't expect much, right? WRONG! Pirates! has some (comparatively) awesome graphics. Vibrant, Colourful, crisp and clear, the graphics are a delight to experience. In game icons like your ship, towns, reefs and islands are clear and well animated. Battle animation, either within ship to ship or one on one sword duels, are remarkably crisp and fluid. The character portraits are the game's only real iffy point, graphics wise. Your character, the governers, governor's daughters, bar patrons and evil spaniards are rather poorly animated. Everything else, however, is just gold. (I should note, playing for long periods of time makes your eyes hurt due to excessively bright graphics.)

SOUND: Arguably, the game's low point is it's lackluster sound. The music for towns and ports are, for the most part, nonexistent and dull. In the world map, I promise you, the sound of the ever present wind will drive you INSANE! You can tell they tried to make the wind realistic, but it ends up sounding rather like a small, ill repaired engine. Battle sounds are also lacking, with cannon fire sounding flat and often never even appearing. Likewise to the sound of the cannonfire hitting or missing is also hindered by bad sound effects. There are some good little dittys available, however, the title screen, treasure screen and ending screens all have some catchy tunes. And, the spanish port music is ROCKIN'!!!

PLAY CONTROL: In a word: GREAT! Pirates! is a cinch to play. You can control your ship with ease, using the d-pad. Your ship is instantly responsive, with no delay or hesitation. Likewise, the controls for swordfighting is top notch. once you get a hang of the general idea, you'll be swingin' that saber like Zorro himself! Trade, pillage, and plunder are also easily managed with a simple left-right list that is very straightforward and reliable. Plus, your pointer in the game is a multicolour cutlass, how cool is that?

TRY OR BUY: BUY, BUY, BUY! This is, without a doubt, the BEST NES game this side of River City Ransom. If you own a NES, you OWE it to yourself to play this amazing and truly original game!

TOTAL GRADE (NOT AN AVERAGE): 9/10
Pirates!, It's Jolly Good!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/15/05