Silver Surfer (NES) Playthrough
4Playthrough of Silver Surfer, Arcadia's 1990 side-scrolling and vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up for the NES.
The video contains all three loops of the game:
0:00:00 - First loop
0:34:20 - Second loop
1:08:20 - Third (final) loop
Silver Surfer for the Nintendo Entertainment System is a side-scrolling and vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up game released in 1990 by Arcadia Systems and published by Marvel Comics. The game places players in control of the Silver Surfer, a cosmic superhero who travels through different dimensions to recover missing pieces of a powerful cosmic device. His journey pits him against enemies and bosses drawn from the Marvel Universe, including Mephisto, Firelord, and others, culminating in a final battle to restore universal balance.
The gameplay alternates between horizontal and vertical stages, each filled with waves of enemies, environmental hazards, and intricate level design. Players control the Silver Surfer as he glides through space on his board, firing energy blasts at foes while dodging projectiles and obstacles. Despite his immense power in the comics, the in-game Surfer is extremely fragile, dying instantly from any contact with enemies or surfaces, which adds a high level of challenge and frustration to the experience.
One of the game’s most notable features is its soundtrack, composed by Tim Follin. The music pushes the NES hardware to its limits, delivering complex, energetic tracks that have earned praise from retro gaming enthusiasts. The sound design stands in stark contrast to the minimal and repetitive visuals, which often feature drab, generic backgrounds and sprite designs that don’t do justice to the cosmic scale of the Silver Surfer’s comic book origins.
Silver Surfer is often remembered for its high difficulty, awkward hit detection, and unrelenting enemy patterns. Its strict one-hit death system and limited continues make it accessible only to the most patient and skilled players. The game has gained a cult following for its unique music and comic book pedigree, though.