Second down and P-51: NFL & Sky Shark | NES Works 145
856September 1989 brings us two games with nothing in common besides what they represent for the NES business and development environment. NFL closes one door, as long-time partners LJN and Atlus will part ways after this; Sky Shark opens another, as a third-party Japanese publisher (Taito) hires a Western studio (Software Creations) to convert an arcade game rather than relying on a Japan-based hire.
(Yes, I know that Ultra tapped Beam to port Defender of the Crown, but Ultra was an American publishing company, if you really want to be pedantic. Which you do. You're on the internet, after all.)
It's good that the story behind these games offers so much to talk about, because in terms of actual content they're more or less bulk filler. They fleshed out the shelves in the electronics department and gave well-meaning parents something mediocre to buy their kids when the good stuff was sold out.
Production notes:
Available now an exclusively for preorder at Limited Run Games: The NES Era Vol. II: NES and the Console Revolution, a comprehensive photographic atlas of every console game released for NES and its competitors from October 1985 through December 1987. Take a deep dive into the prehistory of NES with this limited-edition oversized (12x12"!) photo book: https://limitedrungames.com/products/the-nes-era-vol-2-hardcover
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NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X and 720p with xRGB Mini Framemeister.