Remember Nitrome?: The King of Pixel Flash Games

With Adobe Flash out of commission and most flash games being supported by other plugins, it seems the golden era of internet flash games concluded a long time ago.

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Before I got other consoles growing up, the next best option was the endless ocean of the internet and the armada of games it offered.

For better or worse.

Miniclip, CrazyMonkeyGames, Puffgames, CoolMathGames, I hung around on all of them, and while some games stand out in my memory, a collection of gem after gem holds a special place with me.

Nitrome.

Yeah, remember that one?

For a good while now, they’ve branched out into mobile games as well as PC Gaming and other such avenues like Nintendo Switch and Steam. But many people, like myself, probably knew them best during the height of their flash game era. All their titles were charming, bit-style chiptune games of many forms with a colourful array of characters, settings and playstyles. In my opinion, when it came to flash games, Nitrome stood out in terms of quality and replay value and above all else, they were super fun!

As of now, Nitrome has well over 100 flash games in their catalogue, but their focus is more on mobile and other platforms, and rightfully so. They’ve come a long way in their game development and their flash game era was one of their biggest steps, and certainly the most influential and memorable on the internet frontier.

Here’s a small recap of some of my personal favourite games that Nitrome released, standing out as some of their greatest classics.

-          Final Ninja 1 and 2

Set in a cyberpunk, Neo-Tokyoesque world, Final Ninja is a suspenseful and exciting beat em up side scroller with stealth and strategy at its core. You play as the very last ninja, Takeshi, returning from hidden retirement to end his former master and boss Akuma who had hunted him down and ruined his peaceful life away from his ninja past.

As veteran Ninja Takeshi, you throw ninja stars, swing and sling Spider-man style with a ninja rope, and evade enemies by turning invisible.

The second game is a prequel featuring a young Akuma, which improves greatly on the original. Both games however are undeniably the most solid titles in the Nitrome library, its levels and design featuring all sorts of stealth, action, tension and even a bit of critical thinking to outmanoeuvre overwhelming, but never unfair, swaths of foes.

The music is always banging in every Nitrome game, but it truly shines in the Final Ninja line-up, capturing perfectly the epic futuristic feel of the games and story completely.   

-          Steamlands

In a post-war, steampunk world, Steamlands has you commanding all manner of metals and machinery that you can customize in real-time to create fascinating and outrageous tanks and machines to travel across the dystopian wasteland and battle other tanks like pirates and scavengers.

While I may admit the gameplay in terms of construction, customization and strategy is intriguing, the combat seems lacking or awkward when you usually just end up ramming into the enemy tank, locking together like rams or stags.

However in terms of atmosphere, game feel and concept, Steamlands stands out strong among fans, even to where a second game was made featuring player and fan-made levels, so let that stand as a testament to its appeal.

-          Sky Serpents

This boss-centric , epic, monster hunting game reminiscent of “Shadow of the Colossus” stands out both in concept and in execution. As a hard-knuckle warrior, you seek to outperform your father’s legacy by slaying more sky serpents than he. Now these are dangerous and perplexing serpentine monsters that are also each of the game’s levels.

Take care not to plummet through the clouds to your doom as you study and attack each serpent’s weak spots and find out how they behave and what obstacles they present to rip them down from the skies .

I remember this one well, as I really liked the idea that the whole boss itself is the level that your run, jump and fight on. All manner of forward thinking, speed, and efficiency will pay off in this game.

-          Parasite

This was one of few Nitrome games that I loved so much, I actually beat it a few times, much like the Final Ninja titles.

Invading a peaceful, abundant, fertile planet rife with cuddly animals and forest spirits, you play as a snotty, greasy, evil little parasite who is as intelligent and witty as he is wicked.

Hell bent on turning the planet corrupt to his own evil machinations, your role as this nefarious worm is to conquer this planet as your own, after you make your way through its puzzle-platform levels.

What makes this title so fun is that you can infect the enemies you encounter and use their powers and abilities to your own gain. It’s unique in the sense that you honestly have fun playing the bad guy all things considered. The later levels are tough but well worth a try.

All the other Nitrome titles are too abundant in number to name, but as far as online games ever went, Nitrome almost always delivered. They weren’t afraid to experiment either with all sorts of ideas and styles of game, from puzzle to adventure to multi-player to shoot-em/beat-em-up.

It was a staple place in my childhood and there it shall rightly stay. What online games were your favourites?

Thank you for reading and have a beautiful day!

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