166 · DANCE AEROBICS

• Hop, skip and jump your way into shape!
• Introductions
  • Why are we getting Power Pad games, but not ROB and Zapper games? Seems like they were onto something with the Zapper games and not this.
• Overview
  • It’s Twister they should’ve just made Twister
  • Can we talk about the Video Game Market in 1989
  • Is the game marketed just toward women?
• Gameplay
  • Menu - Which would you like?
  • Where is she that ESB and Chrysler Building are that close. She’s gotta be in Queens in the old CitiBank Building
  • No but seriously, this one works. I’m actually proud of this game.
    • And you can’t really cheat
  • YOU DON’T HAVE TO PLAY THIS
  • Pass Stamp
    • Your Hole Punch Card
  • Mat Melodies
    • Confusing and almost nonsense, but possibly the most fun game has to offer
• EGL
  • This isn’t what the NES is
• Next week - John Elway’s QB

Auto-generated transcript. Each paragraph starts with its timestamp. Speakers are not identified.

00:00 Dance aerobics! Hop, skip, and jump your way into shape!

00:20 And welcome to NEStalgia, a chronological exploration of every NES game released in North America. I'm Mike. I'm Sean. And I'm Joe. Guys, why are we getting Power Pad games now? I was just thinking that. We're not getting Rob. We're not getting Zapper games even. You know, it seems like they were on to something with the Zapper games. They're not really on to anything here with the Power Pad games. What's the deal? I am amazed that this peripheral is still getting support.

00:53 I mean, I don't think this is a Nintendo game, so there are some third parties that still think that they can squeeze some juice out of this thing. Is this a Nintendo game? I'm not even sure. I honestly don't remember. Nothing about this game will, like, you know, the first thing I think about when I think about Dance aerobics is not like, who got the copyright on the bottom of the title screen? You know, I just didn't look. I think it was made by... Oh, it is? Okay. Nintendo, Bandai.

01:22 Yeah. Okay. Nintendo, North America, Bandai, Japan. I don't know. Okay, that makes sense to me. Let me clear up something here. To me, that means Bandai made this game. Oh, I know. And then Nintendo was like, we'll publish this stuff for you in America. Because if you remember, Bandai made the Power Plus Fitness Pal, or whatever it was called, in Japan, and even released that here in the States first. And then, only afterwards, was Nintendo like, hey, I think they're onto something here. We should just buy the Family Fun Fitness Pad from them, and recall the Power Pad.

02:00 And they should have just recalled the whole product. But instead, they released it like that. So I think that's what happened here with Dance aerobics. Looks like Nintendo published it, Human Entertainment, like, converted it, and Bandai originally made it. Yeah, so that was the, I completely missed the developer being Human Entertainment, which sounds kind of half-joking for some reason. I think it's like, they're obviously aliens pretending to be humans.

02:29 But you'll remember them from Super Team Games, and World Class Track Meet, and Athletic World. Who could forget? Yeah, that's their bread and butter right there, are these, like, you know, you're going to camp, you're working out style games. Yeah, I love it. You're a human, and you're having fun. Yeah. Camp slash workout games, are there? So, Dance aerobics, it's kind of like Twister, right? They should have just made Twister, the game where you spin the spin board, and then it tells you, like, left foot yellow. That's what this game should have been.

03:07 I don't really know if that's correct, or if that's like a good shake. Oh, you're going to fight me on that that early. I think that that's something that you could do with the power pad. Yeah. And maybe they do it a little bit in this, but. It's not really, like, an aerobics thing, you know? This game, I know, but this game is really just telling you, put your foot here, then put your foot there. And I think that's what Twister also tells you to do.

03:30 But it's not, but Twister isn't just like, okay, now left foot up, left foot down, and the same button, and up and down again. I don't know, they're trying to make this like a Wii Fit sort of thing right now. Yeah, there's no rhythm involved in Twister. Yeah, yeah, there's no rhythm Twister, there's no Twister DX third cut. But I think. I'm sure, though, the odds are pretty good that, you know, you could just get your foot, left foot yellow, left foot red, left foot yellow, left foot red. I'm sure that could happen. Oh, it happens. In somebody's game of Twister, and that would be no different.

04:09 Yes, yes, Mike. The randomness of Twister can somehow, like, turn into an aerobics routine. That's true. But can we talk about, before we even talk about this game, because I see that I've upset some people with my Twister analogy, can we just talk about the video game market in 1989 in general? And, you know, you were saying that this is a lot like a Wii game, and I agree with that assessment, you know?

04:34 This seems like a game that is coming out way too early after a market that has clearly been established. Like, if you wanted to release this game in 1985 when you're, like, trying to figure out who are video games for after the crash and stuff like that, totally get that, you know? It's for everybody, right? Look at this. We even have a computer buddy named Rob. I understand releasing, like, a family fun fitness game.

04:59 But in 1989, where we're just consistently getting, like, games made for, like, teenage boys over and over and over again, all of a sudden for dance aerobics to come out, it feels like it feels so out of character for the system now at this point. Whereas if you just glance on the Wikipedia page, you'd be like, oh, okay, they tried that and it missed. But now it actually, because we're playing chronologically, it feels out of place. I was just going to say, because it does feel like we do get, even now we do get a sprinkling of game. I mean, Sesame Street 123 or ABC or whatever that was. Classic. Felt like, yeah, it felt like also it was like, hey, they figured out a way to use this video game system, like, as a tool to teach your children.

05:41 And, like, you know, it's not really a game in the way that we're used to. And, like, this is, I don't know. There's still, there's still, I feel like there's still some creators out there that are like, oh, there are interesting things that you can do specifically with the power pad. Like, somebody is really believes in the power pad and knows that one day dance pads will take off and, like, is not willing to quit on it. But, like, I do feel like, yeah, once in a while there's always, like, a weird game every, like, 15 games or something.

06:09 That completely breaks the rules of what a game is so far, for better or worse. No, I agree with that. But in terms of this specific game and within the ecosystem of dance pad games, I think this is the, like, the best application so far. I think that the ones that were, like, you're, like, they give you the story that you're at camp and this is you running.

06:40 And you just have to stomp on these two buttons over and over and to jump, you have to jump. But, like, this is more one-to-one. Like, you could argue that the game can't really enforce that you do anything with your arms like our little friend that teaches us everything.

07:02 But everything else is, like, it's more of a tool than, was it team games or whatever it was? Yeah, super team games. Yeah. Okay, well, for one, you just, you clearly stole my notes for this episode and you hit every single bullet point that I was about to go through for the remainder of the episode. So, folks, it's all done now. Yeah, that's the game. You might as well just close it out. But, no, seriously, this one works. I actually was proud of this game while I was playing it. Like, I wouldn't say I had a great time, but I was proud of, like, wow, they finally figured out a useful demonstration of how a power pad could work.

07:40 At varying skill levels, too, because there is, like, warm-ups and then there's, like, a full 20-minute programmed routine. So, there's no arguing that what they've set out to do here, simple as it may be or inconsequential as it may be, you know, if the goal is just to simulate exercising while also making it fun with video graphics, I think they've done that here. Yeah, this is the mirror, pretty much.

08:10 You know that stupid mirror with video. Oh, yeah, yeah. Took me a second. I was like, I think this is more advanced than a mirror, but no. Yeah, no, the one that actually, like, shows you on it with your stats and everything, right. And you know what? You can't really cheat in this game. Like, at first I was like, the whole game is cheating. You don't have to play this game. You could buy the cartridge, put it in, never have the power pad, right? You don't have to even own the power pad.

08:37 And because there's no game over and there's no, like, technically it does count the amount of mistakes you've made, but it won't, like, bump you out of the session if you make too many mistakes. Technically, you could just copy the instructions just on your carpet. Like, you never need to use any kind of power pad or anything. You can just mimic the moves. So you really can't cheat because the only way to cheat in this game would be to just let it run and not do anything. Like, just sit on the couch. Well, it'll let you continue the, like, the level.

09:11 If you don't put any inputs in, it's not going to send you to the next level. Yeah, you won't get the stamp. Yeah, it does tell you your mistakes. Also, I was thinking, you know, if you cheat at this game, I mean, you've just played yourself. Like, just don't play this game. There's no reason to play this game if you don't want to actually do the, you know, do the thing that it's made for. You know what I mean? Like, it's not like, oh, I just want to get to that next level, you know, of this dungeon in whatever game I'm playing. It's just like, you bought this game to do aerobics. So, like, just do aerobics. If you're going to cheat, then, like, I just don't think you want to play this game.

09:43 But you know somebody, like, real smug, like, bought the game, did, like, the first five-minute workout, but sat on the couch and just ate chips for all the dance aerobic thing was going on. All the while, they think they're passing the level because it's not saying game over or anything. And then, to Sean's point, you don't get the stamp pass. So, you know, like your hole punch card, you don't have that punch. So, now you have to do that again. So, nobody really wins unless you burn a sweat in this game.

10:12 Right. That's right. Also, I wanted to mention, Sean, or one of you guys mentioned, I can't tell you guys apart, but one of you guys mentioned that you can just do whatever you want with your hands. Like, you don't actually have to do the things with your hands. That's still something that, like, is done today, like, with games like this. Or not today, but much more recently. I remember my sister had, I think it was Just Dance or one of those dance games on the Wii where you just used the Wiimote.

10:44 So, that was it. It just tracked the motion of your right arm. But it was, like, a whole dance routine you had to do. So, like, if there's still, like, if people are still buying into that today and saying, like, yeah, this is, like, this is working, then, like, I think that, honestly, the dance pad feels like it's even more, like, immersive than doing it on the Wii.

11:05 And that also isn't the only, I'm sorry, because it's not entirely correct that you can do whatever you want with your hands. Because there are certain routines that require you to bend down and touch a button on the pad while still having your feet on the ground. So, I guess most of the time you don't really have to do anything with your hands. But other than that, I do agree with you, yeah. And we can fantasize, like, a bunch of different ways on how to cheat at this game, right? But ultimately, like, you're the person who paid for the game, right? And now you're putting it in there, like, there's nothing worse than, like, either brute forcing or half-assing, like, a video game that you own.

11:50 You know, in a certain way, like, that actually, you're the one robbing yourself of the experience here. So, I know what Joe's talking about because there are plenty of Wii game examples. I think even, like, real video games on Wii, like, technically Skyward Sword, you know, that, like, requires you to slash in certain directions or certain enemies.

12:11 And there are people who will go, like, all in on those slashes and do, like, a very, like, swordsman-like diagonal slash to make sure that it registers. And then there are other people who will just, like, flick their wrist diagonally, you know, and they'll be like, you know, and just keep doing it. It's like, who's really getting the reward there? I think the guy who, like, goes all in on, like, owning that his Wii-mote is the sword is the guy who's actually getting something out of his game. Right. But in that, like, that other guy who's just flicking his wrist, if that's the way he wants to play it, like, I get that for Skyward Sword, for something like that. He wants to go through the story. He wants to just kind of use it almost like a button.

12:49 I don't get somebody cheating at dance aerobics because you're not getting anything else out of it other than aerobics. Like, at least Skyward Sword, you're getting the story, you're getting other elements of this gameplay, you're getting the puzzle. This, you get nothing out of it if you do anything other than, like, try and do the aerobics. The funny thing about this game is I'm sure that all three of us didn't play it as intended because we could never get that pad to work. That's true. We all sort of cheated, actually. Yeah, we all cheated. And I just played this game on an array on my keyboard.

13:22 So I guess I wasn't getting too many aerobics, but definitely get my fingers a workout. I did the aerobics. I played on the carpet. You know, like I said, you don't have to own a power pad to do this. I don't know what's more funny, the fact that we play with our fingers to actually play the game or you play on the carpet, not actually interacting with the game.

13:44 It's no different than playing stack-up. Exactly. You know, but I think, like, that's what this whole thing comes down to, too, is, like, you can cheat at Dance Aerobics. You can cheat at Wii Fit, right? Like, the scale doesn't lie, but, like, you can play the minigames and just, you know, do the running thing by, like, slapping your hands, you know, in, like, a kneeling position to run really fast instead of actually moving your feet. Like, there are all sorts of ways to get creative about this, but it doesn't really matter because the game's objective is just to get you moving.

14:18 Like, I think there's a disclaimer in the manual that's like, please don't play this game for, like, more than an hour a day. Like, you know, like, you're going to work up a sweat. That's, like, what the game is selling you here. It's selling you a workout. It's not a video game. We shouldn't be talking about all the different ways to cheat because it doesn't even matter. The objective is something that the game doesn't track here. The game is trying to keep you in shape, and it has no way of knowing if you're getting better shape or not. It's true. You're on the honor system. Yeah, they should have built in a scale to the power pad.

14:54 The menu bothered me a little bit. It just says, which would you like? I don't think that that's appropriate language for the menu, you know. It should just present the options. Which would you like? And then just four options? I don't know. Something about the wording of that just feels like a bad translation or just, like, a straightforward translation. Which would you like? I've never heard anybody say that to me before.

15:19 You know, if somebody offered me a variety of options on something. Okay, no. If somebody offered you food, maybe. I'm talking about, like, someone offers you four game choices. They're like, which would you like? Well, what if somebody was like, hey, do you want a free board game? I've got four here. Which would you like? But I bought the game. I'd like all of the options, right? I'm going to play for all of them. So do you want to say, like, which would you like to play first? Do you want it to be longer?

15:46 How about just, like, select your mode? So you want them to be more dominant. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I just wanted that every button just takes you down the list and then it loops back around no matter what you want. No, no, no, no. I just wanted to act like a fitness trainer that is bullying me. You know, it's like, will you just pick a mode already?

16:08 Immediately. We've got work to do. Well, some of the other things that are said, like, I think, I'm just watching a video right now. And the trainer says in between, try again, relax, and improve. It's very, I don't know, it's kind of like. It's very supportive. I didn't know. Well, it also says relax and improve, though. I don't know. It's just funny to me. It implies, like, she didn't say, hey, you didn't do great there. She just said improve.

16:38 I think that it's a very soft but firm hand that any good dance instructor wearing a unitard would sort of say to you. That's true. I thought we were arguing for more of we wanted just a firm but firm hand. The other funny thing about the, you know, I think there's a story to this game. And the story is you start in your, like, your huge loft in the middle of a large city. And not only do all of, like, the, like, as you're doing this, your loft is both drifting away from the city and sort of, like, falling into an abyss. Yeah, you didn't read that as, like, okay, because I just want to interrupt you for a second. I see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in the background.

17:31 And, you know, where can you be where the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building are that close? Jesus Christ. But also, like, from your, but from, like, you must be to the east of them to see them like that and that kind of perspective. So she's got to be living inside of the old Citibank Building in Queens. You know, like, that's the only possible place where, like, it's... You tracked her down. That's the only place she could be. But why is it... Why is the skyline... I can get why it's getting darker. You know, it's just at different times of the night. But why is the city seem to be receding away from you?

18:07 And, like, over time? I didn't notice that. I just noticed that right now. It's like you're... It's like it's setting. It's like you're the planet and the city is, like, revolving around you. It's like the sun's setting. Yeah, I don't know. I think that you must be on, like, an artificial gravity cylinder that's slowly rotating away from the city. I read it more like you're moving up to, like, you know, if you're on floor 55, which you must be to be that high up to the Empire State of the New York City, when they begin with. It's like as you move up, you move up floors, too. So they become lower. See, now, if they were going up, that would imply that your building was collapsing while you were doing dance robux. Inside of it.

18:53 Yeah, I guess that makes more sense than this, like, the city actually falling away from you. I like the idea that they, like, just weren't thinking clearly. And they're like, yeah, like, the sky, you know, the stars in the sky sets behind you. But then they, like, forgot to detach the city from that layer. Yeah. That would be odd. Yeah. Okay. I'm going with Mike's analogy here. I was also going to say maybe they're just mad at flat earthers. And they were just trying to show, like, no, the earth is so round that building's set with the sun.

19:28 All right. You talked about the stamp pass thing, you know, that you collect your stamps if you do well enough to move on to, like, you know, the harder workouts, if you will. That's kind of like your hole punch card. I made that joke earlier. So that's out the window. We're going through the show notes very quick here. But did you think that the stamp pass thing was actually a worthwhile included feature? Or should they just have given you everything from the start?

19:55 Well, one, I like that you actually wrote down to make the hole punch card joke. Like, that wasn't just a thing that you thought of. That was, like, you rewrote that into the script. I appreciate that. I don't write the scripts. The government does. But anyway, I don't know. No, I guess, like, I would have appreciated a more modern view of, like, if I were to actually own this game and not have to, like, review it for a podcast, I might like it more if it was simplified and I could only access the things that the game thinks I'm ready for. And I'd have to, like, unlock these things over time.

20:37 And, like, it could have just been let everything be available at once. But this was just sort of, like, a softer way to lock everything behind progression. Because you can lie and pretend that you have these hole punches. But, you know what I mean? Like, it's just sort of like a user-policed way of locking content behind progression. I think people are going to hate me here, but I think everything should be locked. I hate it when everything's just available from the get-go. I think about, like, the difference between Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where it's like, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe assumes that you played Mario Kart 8 and that you would have unlocked everything. So they just give it to you at the start.

21:22 But that's just a very unrewarding experience. Even for somebody who has already unlocked all those things, it's like, oh, they're already here. So it's kind of just like the game I already own. You know, I'm always, like, lock all the content and make me feel rewarded for it.

21:37 I'm usually with you there, too. And on this, for Dance Aerobics, I actually think that, you know, that's the only, really one of the very few elements that, like, makes this somewhat gamey. So, like, you know, I think that it gives you a goal.

21:53 And that's helpful. Yeah, I agree. I think that it would have been better served if they locked everything. But I guess that would require a password system, which I guess is fine. But everything else, like, including the verbiage of what would you like to play or which would you like? Which would you like? Even to play would have been better. To play, to add that. Which would you like? I think this thing is designed for people that don't really play video games. And a password system might be a bridge too far there. I don't know. I'm just spitballing.

22:58 The Unlocked

23:21 The Unlocked

23:49 The Unlocked

24:18 The Unlocked There's a couple different modes here, but the first one just lets you, like, play around on the dance pad, and it makes sounds like a piano, so you're kind of like at FAO Schwartz in Big, you know, where you're just, like, playing around on a real-life piano or whatever with your feet. You're going to have to get back into this, yeah. Yeah, and then the next mode, though, it, like, plays Mary Had a Little Lamb and shows you, like, sheet music along with it, and then you can copy that with the power pad. I almost called it the dance pad, honestly, because that's what it became.

24:53 It's not, it's kind of confusing. It's almost nonsense, honestly. Like, the sounds, like, if you're not in sync, you could just sound like you're just making garbage. But if you can figure it out, it's a really fun little minigame that they should have continued to add on. This could have, honestly, been its own game for the power pad. Yeah, it was my favorite part of the game, which is funny to me because it's not in any way related to what the game sells itself. It's not in any way related to what the game sells itself as. It's just, like, a fun little, like, toy box of playing the piano.

25:26 It's like Sonic Adventure where you get the chows and you're like, oh, this is better than Sonic Adventure. Like, I'm just going to raise my chows and take care of them. Yeah, I remember that. Hang out in Chow Garden all day. Yeah, and you just had to go into that one level to farm. Yeah, to farm the chemicals that you give to Chow.

25:45 No, no, no. To get back on topic, that's what Matt Melodies is, Joe. You're right. They're not selling this at all. I don't even think it's mentioned on the back of the box or anything. It is mentioned in the manual. But this is, like, a totally different game. Barely aerobics, even. Because you can, you know, like, you can take your time and briskly just play along with the music. But I found it to be unique enough that I would have liked to see it expanded. Like, they could have done more with this. Like, you could have had an array of power pads that have different instruments. And you could just jump from pad to pad and play your own orchestra. Yeah, I mean, I'm in for that.

26:27 But I also think that it's like this weird, it's like the two ideas together. If you were to now take the aerobics and the Matt Melodies and, like, put them together, you're getting dangerously close to, like, a DDR on, like, a dance pad. Yeah, I would have thought that. Dangerously, I don't mean negatively. It's the rare positive use of dangerous.

26:52 But, so I thought that that was actually kind of interesting. Because what it does, the way that Matt Melodies tries to do the, like, match the music sort of element of it is that it doesn't really give you a chance to, like, see a note coming. You just have to, like, hit the note as it hits pretty much. Which makes it, like, definitely there's room for improvement. Like, I feel like on the second time around, you can then, like, hit the notes better because you now know what's coming.

27:19 Um, so it's not, like, quite at, like, DDR levels or other games like that. But, um, it, I don't know. It's something about it. Yeah, all the basics are there. It's a little funky, I think, because also it's not, like, laid out, like, in a way where you would know intuitively where the notes are if you were a musician. I don't think, I mean, it's still just a square of circles and each one is assigned a different, a different note. So it's not like you're on a piano.

27:50 Yeah, looking at it here, it looks like the, like the, it kind of rotates around you. And I would, I would have a hard time keeping track of what, what note was which on this, uh, on this little map thing. Yeah. It's easy to understand if you're doing an ascending or a descending scale. But then if all of a sudden you're like, all right, now hit a, hit me a B.

28:11 I'm like, where was that again? Like, behind me or? That would be a fa. Yeah. And, of course, the Nintendo Entertainment System would eventually, I think, get a, uh, Miracle Piano accessory. Maybe that was the Super Nintendo now that I think about it. But, like, that is just funny that eventually, like, a full piano would just become a controller.

28:30 But I think this does the job. Yeah. You know, again, confusing, almost nonsense, but fun. It's like, it's the kind of thing that if you're a kid, just the, just, maybe not the mode where you actually have to play back, Mary had a little lamb. But the mode where you can just, like, push the buttons and it makes sounds. Yeah, it's a toy. Is, is, yeah, exactly. It's a whole new way to actually make some use out of your power pad rather than these games where it's like, well, you don't actually have to use the power pad. You can just follow along. Yeah. So, Sean, you're definitely going to go back and check this one out then.

29:01 I, I was going to until I realized that I would just be on the key, like, on my keyboard again. Got it. So, it's not actually any more interesting. But I would like to see this in action sometime in my life.

29:40 Now, the year is 1989. 1989. So, we'll give these, you know, we'll give everything the benefit of the doubt here. But is this game marketed just a little too hard towards women specifically? Like, I, I know that the video game market in general is not exactly catering to women in 1989. But it just seems like everything about this game is from the, from the box art to the manuals to the, to the girls in the unitards on the screen and everything like that. Everything about this game implies that, like, boys shouldn't be playing this game. And that just feels weird to me. There are men on the, um, on the front cover of the manual. Okay. It looks like there's actually, like, an equal number. Well, almost. Uh.

30:24 Yeah. Um, it's, yeah, I mean, I, I get it. Like, the early, early video games, like, if it's, if it's a game that women are part of the target audience, they're just going to make it, um, for women.

30:40 But, uh, I don't know. I guess, like, what they could have done was put, uh, some, some big burly dude doing, uh, doing aerobics. Would that, would that have made it easier for you, Mike?

30:52 No, I don't, I don't know exactly what it needs. I'm not saying, like, it needs to make boys feel okay to play the game. Like, that's, like, the opposite, I guess, of what I'm saying. I think it's just kind of unfortunate that, you know, like, we're barely getting enough games that have, like, female protagonists. And then finally you get, like, this game that is clearly just, like, all about, you know, even if you look at the Family Fun Fitness and the Power Pad box and stuff like that. A lot of those things are just, oh, I have, like, women on the Power Pad and stuff like that. This idea that, like, women need to use the dance aerobics, you know, cartridge and, and, uh, that's how they do exercise.

31:30 It just feels, I don't know, it just feels like it's in poor taste today. I'm not saying it was in poor taste in 1989. Who knows? It just doesn't feel like, uh, you know, it feels a little aged now with that in its, uh, in its, um.

31:44 Yeah, I, I'd agree with that, yeah. So I think during the Super Teen Games episode, we came up with the idea that, uh, you know, of, like, DDR on the NES and why didn't they do it because they had the Power Pad. Now you've seen Matt Melody's and I think Joe came close to saying, like, this is DDR on the NES in certain respects. But did this game make you long for any new uses of the Power Pad? Have we come up with anything more creative than just, uh, DDR on the NES now that we've played this one too? Honestly, I think Twister's a good idea.

32:19 We've had board game games. We've had Power Pad games. Why not the one board game that uses a pad? I agree. I don't. I think that, and it could have had extra, you could have had, you know, multiple people on the pad. Um, not that the game would be able to tell you who was who on the pad.

32:38 I don't think it's that small. I think, I think three kids, right, age seven could play Twister on that Power Pad. Let's do the math here. Yeah, exactly three kids. Yeah, only three kids total could ever be, uh, could ever play this. And there would be no room. Once everybody's limbs have their spot, there's nowhere to move. I just don't see it, you know? I think that, uh, I think that even if you had a Twister video game, like, I guess if the game was going to be the one that enforces if somebody fails. And be like, player three, uh, let go of this button and therefore you lose. Like, I think it's still, it's still best played as a piece of plastic with a little, with a little spinner.

33:28 Right. If you can't actually enforce anything, what's the point of playing? In that respect, the NES game is just worse. And I don't think that would stop anybody from seeing the cash grab opportunity and just making it anyway. But yes, in a way, we're glad they didn't make it because they couldn't have done it properly. Yeah. So that's why my, in my opinion, uh, the power pad is out of ideas and it should probably stop now. But do you think it's over? I, I, I'm getting the idea that it's not. What about, uh, I'm just looking here at other human entertainment games on the NES. What about Monster Party?

34:07 Monster Party? I, you know, it's made by human entertainment. Maybe that's a power pad game. I feel like you're doing some foreshadowing here, but. Street, what about Street Cop? I would imagine that's not a power pad game. You'd be wrong. Wow. Street Cop? Uh, it's a game where the player has to chase after criminals while jumping over things and, um, use, use a club to apprehend foes. I don't know why you wouldn't just use your gun. Um, but then you wouldn't really be apprehending them. You'd just be killing them. Yeah, you'd be killing them.

34:39 The player has to step on the buttons corresponding to each of the cops' actions, such as moving, jumping, and clubbing. Clubbing is a foot action? Can't wait. It's a foot action. Or maybe they're asking you to, you know, use your hands. Maybe he's on the ground. Right, so club him on the ground. Touch the, um, the pad.

34:57 Okay, so I'm looking at this, uh, I'm looking at this list. This could be an episode. We're gonna do this. No, I know it is gonna be an episode. And it looks like, I think that and Short Order slash Eggsplode are the only two other power pad games that we have to review. But technically, every game is a power pad game, right? Like, why can't you play, uh, Ultima Exodus on the power pad? Oh, we will. We have. Oh, you guys did it on the power pad already? Yeah. Oh, we didn't mention that in the episode? I think I mentioned it. Yeah, I definitely did. Okay. You said a lot of crazy things in that episode.

35:38 You know, this game is designed to make you work up a sweat. And if you played on the keyboard, you probably didn't work up a sweat. If you played like I did on the carpet without a dance pad, you probably just took breaks whenever necessary. So you didn't have to work up a sweat. But I guarantee someone's worked up a sweat playing dance aerobics. And that's why we're going to work up a sweat when we decide whether dance aerobics is on the essential games list.

36:06 All right, Joe, why don't you warm us up here and give us your vote on whether dance aerobics is making the essential games list? Well, I, you know, I give them credit because they made a good, they made maybe the best version of this, of the power pad.

36:24 The power pad games that we've seen so far. I'm thinking if you lived in some weird alternate reality where the only video games that existed are the power pad games we've had so far, this might be essential.

36:36 But here in the real world, I don't think this is essential. It's a cool little aside. I think that the matte melodies is more fun than the aerobics. While the aerobics does work and get the job done, personally, I don't see why it's better than watching a video and doing it along with the video. So, I'm going to have to say that it is not essential. Yeah, I think, for me, this isn't even what the NES is. Like, we were talking about this at the beginning of the episode, why are they making these power pad games? Like, this is not how I associate the Nintendo Entertainment System 30 plus years later. So, it just feels like it can't be on our essential games list. Our essential games list is to decide, like, the NES games that are worth playing today.

37:21 I'm not looking at this game ever with a straight face, thinking, like, hmm, does this go up alongside Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda? Like, I'm never doing that. So, I'm not even going to kid ourselves here. But I also think, like, even if it is the best power pad game we're going to get, right, that doesn't mean much in the context of what the essential games list is. And so, for me, it's a no. Sean, cool us down here. What's your vote on the essential games list?

37:47 Yeah, I'll try to say this in the most calm way. Anyway, this game is the most appropriate power pad game insofar as it, you know, it's a one-to-one sort of trainer thing. And I also agree that if this is the best the power pad has to offer, there will never be an essential power pad game. But never say never. And I can't wait to play Egg-splode.

38:19 Oh, not essential. Okay, good. I was going to say, you have to actually vote. So, that's good. Thank you for that. But also, I was only saying cool down because Joe warmed up. You know? Joe was the warm-up. And then you were the exercise. Yeah, and now you were doing the cool down. Also, you've been a little angry this episode. So, we wanted to cool down.

38:41 I get it now. Yeah, I think when I ask people about the essential games list, I usually just say, which would you like? See, now that one actually doesn't make sense. Yeah, because you just... Yeah. It does, like, actually make, like, grammatical sense in the context of the game. I don't know about that.

39:02 It's a stretch, but the game wants you to stretch. So, maybe it wanted you to also, like, do some mental gymnastics as well as regular gymnastics while you're playing dance aerobics. Anyway, next week, John Elway's quarterback, back-to-back Super Bowl champion, Denver Broncos, John Elway. Sean, is John Elway a name that carries on today? Yeah, he, you know, he currently is, I think, the owner of the Denver Broncos, and he's kind of bad at that. But, I think back in 1989, he was, you know, he was a cool dude.

39:38 Got it. It's just, I'm surprised it's not Buffalo Bills QB is not the name of the game. Listen, it wasn't our time yet. That's next year. Got it, got it. Josh Allen's quarterback is coming to PS5, for sure. If it doesn't, I'm going to throw a fit. Absolutely. Joe, anything to say about next week's game?

39:59 I will reserve it all for next week. That's perfect. Thank you so much. Unlike Sean, who was doing, you know, the next seven episodes. He was just previewing everything from Explode to Street Cop. It was unbelievable. You can always count on us, though, every Friday to deliver the latest Nintendo Entertainment System video game straight to you. And by latest, I mean whatever's latest chronologically for us. They're not releasing new ones. Make no mistake, there will not be a Nintendo Direct where they're releasing NES games. But maybe they will if we keep doing this long enough.

40:31 I'm Michael Esposito. You can find me on Twitter, at Esposito Film. But more importantly, you can find Nostalgia, at NostalgiaCast on Twitter. And that's the one you really want to be talking to. Because honestly, if you send me things, I don't know. What am I going to say? What am I possibly going to say? I'm a different person. I'm removed from the podcast when I'm not on the at NostalgiaCast handles. That's where you really want to hit me up. And if you want to hit me up there, again, that's at NostalgiaCast. We're posting great things about all the games all week long. Monday to Friday, I promise content about whatever the game of the week is. And that's not an easy promise to make. Right, Sean? Absolutely not.

41:09 There's a lot of research that goes into that. Careful research that I then write into a bunch of show notes that Sean then hacks into my computer and reads before the episode so that he can steal them all before we record the episodes. That's how I have any ideas of, like, you know, being an interesting personality. Like, I just steal ideas. Great. Joe, don't forget, Kingdom Hearts 3 was released two years ago. It came out. We don't have to wait for it anymore. Thank you for keeping me in the chat. And our fans only have to wait until next Friday for John Elway's quarterback. We'll see you then. Bye.