The Angry Video Game Nerd is an internet icon and the very first Youtuber that I subscribed to back in late 2006. You can really pin down my age abd demographic with that piece of trivia. Since then he has grown and expanded in scope while still relying on the tried and true angry reviewer shtick. Many others have come and gone or have changed their entire personas, but the Angry Video Game Nerd is still here cranking out content like YouTube’s lovable granddad.
He’s got a huge following, a number of side series, a feature film, and a couple of video games. The latter is the reason that we are here today. Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe is a compilation of the two super-challenging platform titles based on the character. It’s a title I’m surprised got a release like this as I wasn’t aware the games had huge following but glad they do. To be honest, I didn’t even know a second game was ever released. But here we are and it seems the games have a following and not just because of their ties to the AVGN.
The first game is the perfect homage to the AVGN and a fans dream title. It has just about everything that you would want and works much better for those already aware of the character. This makes more sense as that was the target audience for this little Mega Man-inspired adventure. It is full of references to characters in the AVGN universe but most notably takes from the various games the nerd reviewed that made him popular. You platform across bunch of stages like a pissed off Mega Man, shooting enemies and avoiding obstacles. Stages are based on memorable events and locations, and bosses include notable references beyond just the AVGN show.
Stages are well-designed and have a nice flow to them. Many are broken up with auto-scrolling segments that place you on the Silver Surfer’s flying surfboard and other similar vehicles. But what makes the game special is that while it is based on some of the worst games ever created for the NES, the game itself is incredibly well-designed and built with games like I Wanna Be The Guy in mind. That means while it has a traditional NES style and layout, the gameplay is hard as balls with one-hit kills, tricky enemy patterns, and a checkpoint-based stage system that encourages you to keep trying to get that one inch farther.
As someone who grew up on the NES and SNES, I’m no stranger to difficult games. Hell, I owned and played most of the games that the AVGN featured in his early YouTube videos, a major reason I connected with him. He wasn’t just funny and crude, but I really felt the things he put into words as a kid. Imagine having TMNT, Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, and Mario Bros. in your youth. If rental stores didn’t exist I can imagine many kids just dropping video games because of how many terrible ones existed. Thank goodness I had Mario Bros. which taught me about first-party quality on the console then and through today.
Once you beat all the stages, which should take around ten minutes each for those fairly experienced with old-school platformers you can test yout mettle for the N.E.R.D. collectibles. Checkpoints during the experience hit at the right times and you never feel cheated by the game. Deaths always feel like you screwed up and its a blast to try and figure out the patterns of enemies and obstacles. If you want a huge challenge you can bump up the difficulty and learn to “git gud” through all the madness. That said, the Nintendo Switch does hold the experience back a bit as the joystick is not the way to enjoy this title, and the non-existent D-Pad only hurts the tricky platforming. Again, and I’ve mentioned this in many reviews, I use the Hori D-Pad JoyCon for games like this which negates the problems. Using a pro controller or third party one also fixes this. If you have the Switch Lite then the above isn’t an issue at all.
The only real trouble I had was during the blacked out stages that limits your view. That said, those stages did become some of my favorites. Where the game falters is in the boss battles (in both games really). They are visually impressive but lack effort. Most of the time I went in guns blazing and knocked them off in a single go, the exception being the Friday The 13th Jason boss that really requires you to think in the first game. And I suppose the final boss but that goes without saying. While the game is brutal during stages what you learn while playing doesn’t always translate to boss battles. They are simply big, slow, and too easy to take out.
Thankfully, the game doesn’t last long and never outstays its welcome. Right when you get a full grasp of everything it comes to a close. It’s a really great experience with lots of fun power-ups but still a game that plays it safe more than anything. I can understand this as the game was probably a risky venture but the quality is there and it seems to have sold really well and reached beyond AVGN fans thanks to its difficulty. And having the ability to go for 100% competition keeps it exciting. Funnily enough this one has been rebuilt from the ground up using the second games engine. This might be why it feels a little easier than the original Stream release I’m used to. That all said it’s still my favorite in this collection .
The second game takes everything that worked in the first game and ramps it up to eleven. Think of it like going from Mega Man 1 to Mega Man 2-6. Both games are great but Mega Man 1 feels a bit obsolete in comparison with how much was added in the sequels. The analogy sticks as this time around you get the Mega Man wall slide that helps change the way the game plays even though I often forgot about it as not every stages takes advantage. It no longer feels like just a left and right game but also one that requires up and down at times. This is the biggest addition that only adds to the difficulty. It’s amazing how such a simple mechanic can change the core of an experience and even weirder that it isn’t focused on more.
On top of all that you also get a map-based system in the vein of Super Mario Bros. 3. The first game simply let you choose a world to play but now you can select each level within a world by sliding over it an selecting it. This means you don’t have to complete an entire world in a single sitting and can take a breather from a difficult stage to tackle a different area of the map. As the game is a lot harder this is a blessing and something I took advantage of on many occasions. And because the team already understood the audience the second game starts hard and just keeps hitting.
The power-ups are also slightly different especially with the new inventory system that serves as your collectible upgrade area. The first title kept you the same from beginning to end with only secondary powerups, but here you have some control on your character and gives you a reason to find upgrades that can open up different paths that adds to the replayability. The pixel work is better than ever too, with a lot of attention being paid to the backgrounds of stages. Worlds not only feel bigger but wider in scope and detail. It’s like an explosion to the senses at points but also one of the things that rubbed me the wrong way. Look, I love the look and detail but it sometimes comes at the cost of gameplay.
You see, NES games kept the backgrounds more simple so as you would not lose the character in the action. The limited palette was the main reason and something the first AVGN took advantage of in a good way. This time around many stages have far too much going on that it becomes distracting, and when your die because you can’t tell where you are or because you don’t know what is or isn’t an enemy or obstacle I get annoyed. The first game was perfect in that every death felt like your mistake, but in the second game I found myself cursing the game for how busy things were, especially during the Akihabara-inspired stages.
Still, the stages are really the stars of the show in the second game. The detail is off the charts and clearly a lot of work went into them. Sure, more of them have no relation to the AVGN show, but the ones that do are insane and the inclusion of other Cinemasacre characters are fun, even if seeing Bootsy dead makes me feel real bad, man. The TMNT stages are so close to the the game it’s parodying that I wonder if lawyers might get involved. Seriously, some sections look like straight-up copies for stretches of time right down to the Mousers and pink electric seaweeds. Thankfully, the nerd can swim so there’s that at the very least. And because this is a intentionally hard game its harder to traverse the electric seaweeds here than in the original TMNT game.
Weapons are also a thing this time around with you getting a Contra-esque power-up to boost your shooting at points, something that really helps in the flying section and lets it play more like a traditional SHMUP. The first game simply kept your Zapper in play with the occasional Super Scope 6 to beef up your main shots. You also get some mid-bosses to help mix things up and while the end bosses now make far more sense to the worlds they are in and within the AVGN series, something the original game lacked on, they are still pretty easy. I hate when you get to a big boss after fighting your way though a tough stage only to feel sort of left wondering if that was it. Maybe Cuphead has ruined boss battles for me.
Look, the second AVGN game is better in just about every way. The stages are cooler with tons of additional effects and parallax backgrounds (the stages where it looks like you are playing through a black and white TV is on freaking point), the enemies are a little more varied and video game related, bosses make more sense and can involve several parts with old bosses becoming normal enemies, platforming is even more tricky, and the weapon system is more expanded. Add in the fact you have a map-world and upgrades to track down and you have a better game and one not tailored only for AVGN fans to get enjoyment out of. Still, I’m an old timer and the first game just holds a better place in my heart.
It’s much in the same way that Super Mario Bros. 3 is my favorite Mario game of all time even if other titles offer more and ramp things up 10-fold. This is because it was the first Mario game that I played before I even got my NES second-hand as a kid. It did everything I wanted right and came around at the right time to leave an impact. It’s the one game I go back to every year multiple times to play though. The AVGN games are much in the same vein. The first if my favorite because it did what I wanted but I know that the second is the better game in terms of what it builds on.
This is why this compilation is the perfect storm that highlights two great games plus a little bonus for those that can beat both and want to tea their hair out in a third game that you can unlock. Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe is pure unadulterated fun. It’ll be a brutal challenge for most people, at least those that don’t enjoy torturous games, while keeping the irreverent attitude of the nerd in tact. If you love hard platformers pick this one up; if you love the Angry Video Game nerd then pick this one up; if you love both then you are probably going to cream your pants out of happiness.
Pros:
+ Definitive Versions of Both
+ Tight Controls
+ Lots of Challenge
Cons:
– Switch Controller
– Some Visual Clashing
Final Score:
*A copy of this game was provided for review by the publisher*
About Author
