This is a list of 8-bit (NES/Famicom and enhanced VT) games made, assumed to be made, or otherwise distributed by Nice Code Software, organized by original game names that start with the letter P.
Index • Intellivision & Atari ports • Nature Clan games • Casino and casual games • Olympic games • Disney's Math Quest with Aladdin level clones • 8-bit educational programs • VT32 educational programs • NES/Famicom hacks • Famicom cartridge games
Plug and play console games: 0-A • B • C-E • F • G-L • M-O • P • Q-S • T-Z
Pathway[]
_Title_Screen.png){kind=link}
Title screen.
The player controls a girl, and must find a path to move across the field without getting stuck. For every move taken, a grass tile is dug up (which the game describes as digging up crops); the player is blocked from stepping on any already-dug up areas. Several boulders appear in the player's path; three boulders can be demolished with a pickaxe per level. If the player does not meet a certain threshold of areas cleared, the game will start over. There are 10 levels total.
The game features opening text on the title screen in (surprisingly good) English. While the girl has no animation frames in-game, graphics of her walking exist in the data; these graphics are intact in most hacked variants. If the directional buttons are pressed too quickly, the girl may glitchily skip over a tile without clearing it. There are no sound effects or music in the game.
This game may be a carry-over from an "educational computer" Famiclone, and appears to have possibly used CHR-RAM for graphics originally (as a large section of blank areas can be seen in its PRG). Curiously, the game features an inaccessible "EXIT" button in the bottom-right corner, further suggesting an "educational computer" connection.
Assart[]
Changes the player and tile graphics, with the girl being replaced with a man wearing a sunhat. This version features no actual title screen, but adds music and sound effects. The glitch where the player can skip over tiles appears to be fixed (which also applies to all versions following). This revision is only known to appear on a handful of consoles (such as the Millennium Super Arcade 110-in-1), but appears to predate the more common version(s) seen below.
Assart ("Copyright" version)[]
Reuses the graphics from the above version; adds a title screen and changes the music. Additionally, the man's skin color is changed to be black; this results in the game having somewhat racist undertones, possibly representative of plantation work. Features a "Copyright 2004" legal notice.
This game was also present in the "Play Vision"/"Fun Station" game set, and as such was later released by Waixing (with no further alterations).
Assart ("Copyright" version, alternate revision)[]
Based on the above version, but changes the player to a paler-skinned, cartoonish miner character; possibly to remove the game's racial undertones. The tile graphics are copied from the original Pathway version. Features a "Copyright 2004" legal notice.
Radish Field[]
The title screen is updated to replace the scythe with a carrot and radish. The playable character is changed to a rabbit and the patches of land now have carrots on top of them. Features a "Copyright 2004" legal notice.
Radish Field (Waixing)[]
Basic copyright revision adding a different legal notice ("2005SR09393" in some revisions, "200518012" in others); the game is otherwise unaltered.
Miner[]
The title screen and graphics are changed, with the playable character changed to a miner (different from the one in the later revision of Assart). Features a "Copyright 2004" legal notice.
Assart (Qi Sheng Long, VT03)[]
Title screen.
A VT03 conversion; the graphics are completely redrawn compared to the 8-bit version(s). The title screen is updated and features a little boy with a pail and scythe, and the playable character is changed to a farmer.
Radish Field (Waixing, VT03)[]
Nearly identical to the Qi Sheng Long VT03 version of Assart visually, but has altered music. Some graphics (including the boy on the title screen) are slightly different, possibly due to a change in color palette. Named after an otherwise-unrelated 8-bit version, likely to make the two games share the same "copyright".
Radish Farm (Waixing, VT03)[]
Basic title screen variant of the Waixing VT03 Radish Field variant. The copyright registry notice from that variant is carried over in this version.
Crystal (VT03)[]
A VT03 conversion featuring a miner that digs up crystals. Credited to Power Joy Ltd.
Assart (Waixing, VT03)[]
VT03-enhanced version of the 8-bit version(s); graphics are given added colors/shading.
Burger Field[]
A McDonald's-themed hack of Assart featuring Waixing-like music. It is known to exist on a 3-in-1 cartridge bundled with the Subor x McDonald's Famiclone released exclusively in China in 2022. It is unknown if the hack was authorized by Nice Code.
Pet Dog[]
A virtual pet game where the player raises one of three puppies, likely originally released amidst the Nintendogs craze. A Chinese-language version was released as a cartridge by Shenzhen Nanjing, which contains a battery to save progress. An English version was included on several plug & play consoles, but it cannot save progress.
The game features two Olympic-based minigames, High Jump and Jump Long, with the human player changed to a puppy. It is not 100% clear how these events are accessed in-game.
Pikachu ("Pikachu5")[]
_Title_Screen.png){kind=link}
Title screen.
Pikachu, also referred to as "Pikachu5", is a Pokémon-themed platforming-adventure game. The player controls five characters, each of which have different abilities: Pikachu can shoot, Nuzleaf can climb, Combusken can fly, Marshtomp can swim, and Hariyama can punch. The player must use a combination of said abilities in order to find a key hidden in the stage. When it is found, a locked door is opened, where the player has to fight a boss. The game uses music from Devil World, and graphics from Super Mario Bros. 2 and Bubble Bobble Part 2. While unconfirmed, it is possible that Pikachu was based on an unreleased (and possibly unfinished) Dragon Co. production. This is evident by several factors regarding the game, although none of them are truly conclusive.
Several variants of this game were produced for multi-game systems and/or multicarts, with one of them also being published on Famicom cartridge by Nanjing. These variants are relatively more common than the original Pikachu version, which while known to exist, would not be found for many years until resurfacing on the "Retro Station NX-85" (1280-in-1) plug & play system. While the proper Pikachu version has four levels, the majority of variants only feature two levels; seemingly as the hacks were created in pairs as individual "games". All variants except for Diveman also contain leftover graphics data from the original Pikachu game.
Gardman (Nature Color)[]
Changes the playable characters to miners wearing sunglasses. Adds descriptions of the characters' abilities on the introduction screen; the level cutscenes are removed. Credited to Nature Color Game. A version of this game with cutscenes would be published on Famicom cartridge by Nanjing.
Diveman (Power Joy)[]
Based on the Gardman variant, using nearly-identical graphics to that version. Only features levels 3 and 4; likely released as a "pair" with Wonder Rabbit. The skull on the title screen is displayed corrupted. Credited to Power Joy Ltd; judging by the CHR data, a "Copyright" version may have also been produced.
Wonder Rabbit (Power Joy)[]
Changes the players to five rabbits; some of the background graphics are also altered. Only features levels 1 and 2; likely released as a "pair" with Diveman. Credited to Power Joy Ltd.
This variant is the most common release of the game, being widely distributed on dreamGEAR plug & plays. There is an alternate variant of Wonder Rabbit where the player presses A and B simultaneously to change characters (whereas the original game uses the Select button); this is presumably due to dreamGEAR consoles often lacking Select buttons.
Five Kids (Waixing)[]
Based on the Diveman variant. The characters are changed to boys wearing backwards caps; their sprites are directly traced over the Gardman/Diveman miners. Only features levels 3 and 4; likely released as a "pair" with Monster Brother. It is unknown if this is a version fully customized by Waixing, or if it is an obscure preexisting variant. For unknown reasons, a majority of Five Kids releases are heavily corrupted to the point of being unplayable.
Monster Brother[]
Based on the original Pikachu variant. Pikachu is modified into a generic monster creature; the other Pokémon sprites are unhacked from the original game. Only features levels 1 and 2, and starts on level 2; likely released as a "pair" with Five Kids. This variant originates from the "Play Vision"/"Fun Station" game set; it was later featured in Waixing's set with minor alterations.
Monster Brother (Waixing)[]
Waixing released two revisions of Monster Brother, both of which have slight differences compared to the "Play Vision"/"Fun Station" version. An earlier release is virtually identical to the original, but has longer loading times for unknown reasons. A later version features the same loading speed and adds a "2007SR02108" legal notice; the logo tiles were replaced in this process, making the title screen just read "Brother".
Team Boys (Qi Sheng Long)[]
Changes the players to five boys with long hair; their sprites are directly traced over the Gardman/Diveman miners. For unknown reasons, the entire HUD is blanked out.
Pikachu ("Poke Tetris")[]
Title screen.
Pikachu, also referred to as "Poke Tetris", is a clone of Tengen's NES version of Tetris themed after Pokémon. The game represents player 1 as Pikachu and player 2 as Jigglypuff (who is oddly lacking hair). The Russian dancers at the end of rounds are changed to a Pikachu who jumps and spins around. The player can choose from a selection of alternate block shapes and designs. The game only features clockwise rotation of bricks (whereas Tengen Tetris also has counter-clockwise rotation). All of the music in the Pikachu versions of this game is taken from the Pocket Monster Famicom bootleg. All non-Pikachu variants use music from Kero Kero Keroppi for the Famicom instead.
Pikachu (alternate revision)[]
The graphics for Pikachu in this variant lack ears, and he is depicted wearing a hat and pants. The game is otherwise unaltered. This variant has appeared on several consoles from the mid-2010s onward, in place of the (previously more common) "standard" version.
Harry Potter[]
_Title_Screen.png){kind=link}
Title screen.
Changes Pikachu to Harry Potter and Jigglypuff to what appears to be Severus Snape. The end-of-round Pikachu is changed to fireworks. The controls in this version are slower and somewhat stiff compared to the Pikachu version(s).
_Gameplay_2Player.png "Harry Potter (Nice Code) Gameplay 2Player.png (183 KB)")
Elf (Power Joy)[]
Based on the Harry Potter version; the player characters are changed to an egg and a frog. The controls function at the same speed as the Pikachu version. Credited to Power Joy Ltd.
Falling Blocks (Power Joy)[]
Based on the Elf version. This variant removes the selection menu, and uses nontraditional-shaped pieces by default. Credited to Power Joy Ltd.
Russia[]
Minor variant of Falling Blocks. Features a "Copyright 2004" legal notice.
Russia (Waixing)[]
Basic copyright revision adding a "2005SR10618" legal notice; the game is otherwise unaltered.
Rabbit's Triple (VT03)[]
A VT03 conversion; the graphics are completely redrawn in comparison to other versions. This version retains the selection menu.
Tetra Stack[]
An elaborate hack that converts the game to better fit on NES-based "1.8" handhelds; seemingly based on the Harry Potter version. Likely developed by Wellminds. This variant is only known to appear on the V-Play Vapentainment System.
Pingpong Qiu[]
A first-person table tennis game that was reportedly developed by Inventor. The original version of this game has not yet surfaced; however, at least two hacked versions were published in Nice Code's game set (as well as a Waixing variant). Judging by various aspects of the Nice Code/Waixing releases, this game was likely released in 2001, and featured an intro video themed around the 2001 World Table Tennis Championships held in Osaka, showing digitized images from the event.
Ping Pong[]
Nice Code-published version of Pingpong Qiu. The game features multiple game modes, difficulty settings, and characters, presumably carried over from the original version.
This variant features no intro video, though graphics for one still appear in the game's code. Judging from the CHR data, references to the 2001 Osaka championships were removed (with the logo changed to read "2004"), and some of the players' images were replaced, possibly with photos digitized from the 2004 championships.
Table Tennis[]
Minor variant of Ping Pong. Outside of the changed title, the controls are altered in the menus to not use the Start button or left/right directions; the was likely changed for ease of use on Wii clones. This variant is only known to appear on the "Technigame Super 4-in-1 Sports" console.
Table Tennis 2006 (Waixing)[]
A cut-down version of the game that appears on Waixing systems. It removes all of the special features and modes; instantly booting to a match with the artist's mannequin opponent. The Waixing version retains the intro, but changes the logo to read "2006" while retaining mention of Osaka. This version may be licensed under Inventor directly rather than Nice Code; as Waixing's variants of Inventor games often remove large amounts of levels and content. Both English and Chinese-language versions were produced.
This hack was likely created for use in Wii clones; notably, the English version appears on the cartridge bundled with the "Power Player Vii" console.
Pizza Boy[]
Title screen.
Originally produced for (and credited to) Power Joy Ltd. The player controls a pizza delivery guy, and must deliver pizzas to customers while navigating a maze. Uses a rendition of the Clu Clu Land theme.
Hen & Sons (Qi Sheng Long)[]
Title screen.
Changes the game to feature a mother hen delivering and feeding her children worms. The chicken on the title screen likely originates from a stock asset, with a few vector copies available online (often originating from Taiwanese chicken restaurants). The "H" in the title logo is written with a slant, making it appear to read "Nen & Sons".
Hen & Sons (alternate revision)[]
Title screen.
A title screen variant of Hen & Sons that corrects the "H" in the title logo, and changes the title screen's background from black to white. It is unknown if this revision is from Qi Sheng Long directly.
Merry Christmas (VT03)[]
A VT03 conversion; changes the player to Santa Claus delivering presents to children. The music is changed and all sound effects are removed.
Plants vs. Zombies[]
- This section is about the Famicom game. For other uses of Plants vs. Zombies, see Plants vs. Zombies (disambiguation).
Title screen.
An unauthorized port of the original game of the same name for Famicom hardware. It was likely produced alongside a similar Angry Birds Famicom port by Nice Code. This port has fewer plants and zombies than the original, but is arguably more faithful than the Angry Birds port. The game has five levels based on the first five stages of the official release. The music is lifted from the Nice Code game Beach Ball, and there are no sound effects. The "Set Plant" text is written in the Bubble Bobble Part 2 font.
Gameplay.
Like with Nice Code's Famicom port of Angry Birds, the exact origins of their Plants vs. Zombies port are nebulous. Both games were likely intended to be included on multicarts and multi-game systems originally due to their simplicity, and particularly in the case of Plants vs. Zombies, no single cartridge releases are known to have been produced. In late August 2012, ROMs for this game and Angry Birds would be leaked on the Chinese speaking internet by maxzhou88, a former Super Game employee, on his blog.[1] The release of these ROMs seemingly led to many developers of multicarts and multi-game systems including these games, presumably without licensing them from Nice Code. This is evident by the leaked ROMs possessing certain quirks, such as the ROM of this game being overdumped in file size.
Trivia[]
- A much rarer game titled Dance Gangnam Style may also be tied to the releases of Nice Code's Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies ports.
- The title screen is most likely based on the loading screen of the mobile version of Plants vs. Zombies.
- Potato Mine and squished Squash don't function well in this game. Sometimes, zombies can go through a Potato Mine, and sometimes they will explode. A squished Squash can jump right into a zombie and disappear, or it can jump ahead of a zombie and kill it.
External link[]
Polar Bat[]
The player controls a character that strongly resembles Kunio-kun, and must shoot upward at enemy flying along the screen. The player most also avoid icicles falling from the ceiling, and snowballs which roll out of the three open gates in the background. The artwork on the title screen is modified from the opening screen in Kunio-kun no Nekketsu Soccer League. Credited to Power Joy Ltd. This game runs on the same engine as The Archer, which uses slightly different gameplay rules.
The original version of the game features no audio whatsoever; a later revision adds music and sound effects. Oddly, the revision with no audio seems to have its PRG data written over the graphics of one of Nice Code's casino games.
Ghost Palace (Nature Color)[]
Changes the player to a man in metal armor, with enemies and obstacles changed to fire and arrows. The three background gates are positioned slightly differently than in Polar Bat. Despite the game's title, no ghosts appear in the game. Credited to Nature Color Game.
This game was also present in the "Play Vision"/"Fun Station" game set, and as such was later released by Waixing (with no further alterations).
Ghost Palace (Waixing, VT03)[]
VT03 conversion of the 8-bit version; graphics are given added colors/shading.
Enchanter[]
Changes the player to a robed man; the snowballs are changed to spiders. Uses the same repositioned gate placement as Ghost Palace.
Enchanter (Waixing)[]
Identical to the "standard" 8-bit version of Enchanter visually, but has altered music.
Enchanter (Waixing, VT03)[]
VT03 conversion of Waixing's 8-bit version; graphics are given added colors/shading.
Enchanter (Qi Sheng Long, VT03)[]
Based on the "standard" 8-bit version of Enchanter; it is unrelated to Waixing's VT03 version. The graphics are given added colors/shading; uses similar graphics to the original, with a fully-redrawn title screen and player sprite.
Ghost Palace ("common" set, VT03)[]
VT03 conversion of the 8-bit version of Ghost Palace; it is unrelated to Waixing's VT03 version. The graphics are given added colors/shading; uses similar player/enemy sprites to the original, with a fully-redrawn title screen and background graphics.
Police Dog Lasy[]
A burglar buries stolen goods and dynamite in the ground. As a police dog, the player sniffs around for the buried goods while avoiding dynamite. Somewhat infamously, the stolen goods include bags of cocaine. All known versions feature no copyright notation. The original version of the game features no audio whatsoever; a later revision adds music and sound effects.
Sleuth (Qi Sheng Long)[]
Basic title screen variant of Police Dog Lasy; based on the revision with music and sound effects.
Police vs Thief - Violent Chasing[]
Originally produced for Power Joy Ltd (though the title screen features no direct credit). A game where the player controls a police car and has to catch the thief by running their car into the thief's car. It is not possible for the player's car to go backwards when driving. The game features no music or sound effects.
Cell Competition (Qi Sheng Long)[]
Changes the police and thief sprites to red and white blood cels (respectively) with eyes. Adds a music track that plays throughout the entire game. The title screen artwork appears to be loosely modeled after Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. with an altered face.
Monster Hunter (VT03)[]
A VT03 conversion that changes the cars to monster characters; all graphics are completely redrawn. Many releases of this variant remove the title screen, and are often intentionally mislabeled in the multicart menus they're included in. These changes are likely due to the game sharing its name with the popular Capcom video game series.
The game's name would also be used for a game included on JungleTac's vertical 30-in-1 Classic Max Pocket systems, which use the VT168 chipset. This game is believed to have been developed by Nice Code, although the contents of this game are currently unknown.
Police vs Thief (title hack)[]
Basic title screen variant that removes the "Violent Chasing" portion of the title. Created as part of a bulk-retitling of games featuring "violent" (or otherwise less child-friendly) words, likely developed for the European market.
PongPong[]
Originally produced for (and credited to) Power Joy Ltd. The player controls a red vehicle, and must collide with other vehicles to push them into holes on the playfield. The player can move in eight locked directions, controlled via clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation.
There are two versions with different background music. An earlier revision uses a fully custom theme; a later revision reuses the music from Nice Code's Space War, and adds a Power Joy/Nature Color secret credits screen.
Bump[]
A variant from the unknown Firecore-affiliated game set. Changes the player to a rabbit and the opponents to cat-eared creatures; the holes are changed to whirlpools. Based on the earlier PongPong revision with its original music track.
Autoboat Contest[]
A variant from the unknown Firecore-affiliated game set. Changes the player and enemies into boats, and the holes into rock formations. Based on the later PongPong revision that uses the Space War music.
Autoboat Contest (Waixing)[]
Published in Waixing's game set; virtually identical to the above version. Oddly, the music is heavily sped up; it is unknown if this was done intentionally.
Autoboat Contest (Waixing, VT03)[]
VT03-enhanced version of the 8-bit version(s); graphics are given added colors/shading. Unlike the 8-bit Waixing release, the music plays at normal speed.
Afoul (Qi Sheng Long)[]
Uses similar theming to the original PongPong, but most graphics are fully redrawn in comparison. Based on the later PongPong revision that uses the Space War music.
Ramming (Qi Sheng Long, VT03)[]
A VT03 conversion; the graphics are completely redrawn in comparison to other versions, taking place in outer space. Based on the later PongPong revision that uses the Space War music.
PongPong (VT03)[]
A VT03 conversion; the graphics are completely redrawn in comparison to other versions. The player and enemy vehicles are changed to cars on a grass field; the border is changed to beach balls.
Power Robot[]
Originally produced for (and credited to) Power Joy Ltd. The player controls a robot operated by a spring, and needs to jump on a series of vertical platforms to collect items. Levels are completed by passing certain score thresholds; the collectable items continuously respawn until the player reaches the required score. Later levels feature enemies that defeat the robot upon contact.
Kangaroo (Qi Sheng Long)[]
Changes the player to a kangaroo; the music is also altered.
Spring Jester (VT03)[]
A VT03 conversion that changes the robot into an ant. All graphics are completely redrawn, with the background changed to have cat-like face tiles.
Puzzle[]
A basic slide puzzle with number tiles designed to resemble a Windows program. Likely a carry-over from an "educational computer" system. The original version of this game has no music or title screen. There is an alternate revision of the game that uses slightly different graphics, with a more rounded number font and a blockier letter font.
Puzzle (Waixing)[]
Adds music to the game; based on the "alternate" version with a different font.
Mathsort (Qi Sheng Long)[]
Adds a title screen to the game.