Saturday, August 14, 2010

How did we ever live without ESRB?

Playing some of my old NES games recently I realized that some of them that at the time of release would have been considered kid-friendly really arent by today's standards.

The first that I have noticed this with is Bubble Bobble. A Tiato arcade classic from 1986. While playing it on the NES I saw a bonus iten that looke remarkedly like a glass of wine. This could garner an M rating from ESRB for Alcohol consumption if you want to nit-pick.

The other title is Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers released by Capcom for the NES in 1990. The final boss of the game, Fat Cat, is smoking a cigar, and if I recall correctly one has to attack the cigar to defeat him. I seem to remember something about cigarette-smoking lizards as well, but I could be wrong. This would probably garner a T rating.

Honerable mention is Dr. Mario with its pill-popping antics. Although it officially has an E rating, one has to wonder about all those drugs the Plumber/Doctor hands out, err, excuse me, "vitimins."