Casino Kid (NES) Playthrough
207A playthrough of Sofel's 1989 casino game for the NES, Casino Kid.
Sofel, a company known in Japan primarily for developing computer business applications, released this as their first American NES title in 1989, and it was an odd one.
The player is the titular Casino Kid, a fresh face at the "Golden Crumbs" with $500 in pocket and a dream to become the King of the Casino. Before he can challenge the current king, however, he must prove himself by defeating sixteen pros in a series of blackjack and poker games.
Instead of playing as a flavorless table-game simulator, Casino Kid strives to recreate the social atmosphere of a casino itself. Much of the game involves walking around the casino floor speaking with the Crumb’s patrons and staff. You can speak with bunny girls to find out where potential opponents are located in the casino, and patrons will offer advice on how to read the poker dealers’ expressions.
The gameplay is solid, but it is Casino Kid's presentation that makes it such an engaging and memorable game. Each card shark has a unique personality, and these opponents often react in ways that betray their hand – for example, the finely mustachioed Joseph has the worst poker face ever. It's both hilarious and helpful when he screams, “What is this hand!?” with a crazed, wide-eyed expression.
Things are made even quirkier by the awkward translation – the text always makes sense, but the stilted dialog makes the game all the more endearing. It's hard not to smile a bit when you're being called a punk by a Dirty Harry impersonator or when one of the hostesses pipes up with, "I think I'm pretty." These colorful interactions are truly what brings the Golden Crumbs to life.
Casino Kid‘s graphics are well done - the overhead map is bright and cheerful, everyone you speak to has a unique anime-style portrait to accompany the dialog, and the tables are easy to read at a glance. The music is catchy too, though it tends to repeat a bit too much.
The Japanese version is an interesting novelty, too, in how different it is from the American version. It's based on a manga and it tosses in roulette and slots, multiple casinos to explore, and a free play mode that allows you to practice any of the table games on their own.
While it may not sit amongst the NES great heavyweights, Casino Kid is a fun game with enough character and charm to appeal even to the non-gambling crowd.
If you like this one, you might also want to check out Wall Street Kid (https://youtu.be/SN5BgEZkyis ). The two games have a lot on common.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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