Posted on October 7, 2018
Vs. Battle – Paperboy
Scroll below and enjoy
presents a
by
&
 (Sega Genesis) |
 (NES) |
| Genre |  (Action/Adventure) |
| Players |
|
Tale Of The Tapes
Paperboy is a newspaper throwing/bicycle riding action game where your objective is to deliver papers to houses while avoiding a myriad of obstacles such as bees, possessed garden gnomes, skater punks, the Grim Reaper and more! The game progresses through a full week, starting on Monday, with each day consisting of making deliveries to your subscribers (indicated by their brightly colored houses) while also defacing non-subscribers houses (the dark ones) and generally causing all sorts of random hilarity involving rolled-up periodicals. At the end of the street on each day is a training course where additional points can be accumulated before celebrating your days achievements being fawned over by your biggest fans.
Starting out as an arcade game with a unique bicycle handlebar controller 
, Paperboy not only looks completely different at first glance but plays like nothing else as well with its over-the-top rendition of what newspaper delivery boys go through on a day-to-day basis. While it could be considered an action game, Paperboy is more like a single-screen score attack where posting your name prominently next to the 1st place placard is as essential as any other aspect. Finding additional success after making its way to home consoles, Paperboy continued the window shattering tradition and delivered its most notable releases on the NES and the Sega Genesis respectively which just so happen to be the 2 versions of the game that we’re gonna see in the ring today. *EXTRA* *EXTRA* READ ALL ABOUT IT… PAPERBOYS ARE BATTLING TO THE DEATH!!!
The Battle
The Genesis version starts this fight out right away with some snapping jabs in the gameplay department as it follows the arcade version more closely with 3 different street options (Easy Street, Middle Road and Hard Way) as opposed to the single one you get in the NES version. Additionally, the difficulty can be changed in the Genesis version and cannot on the NES which broadens the games reach to new players and raises the replayability for experienced veterans. The control differences are somewhat negligible though I do prefer the coasting speed of the bicycle on the NES version but it’s not enough to muster a comeback as the Genesis version was able to land too many successful blows in this section causing the NES edition to get knocked back to the ropes.
Round 1 Analysis
| Gameplay | |
| Controls | PUSH |
Round 1 winner
|
Clear win in the opening round for the Genesis version as it provides more gameplay options as well as a near equal parts control experience to the NES. |
Things get pretty interesting in the sight and sound department as it’s impossible to compare games of different strength consoles equally because (of course) the more powerful console would win every time so instead I will try to judge them based on how much they push their own hardware. Graphically, the Genesis version has a nice color palette and distinguishable sprites that once again look much closer to the arcade version and the music sounds great also with that distinctive Sega twang but the sounds are slightly less enticing compared to the NES which might be that versions strongest suit. I swear, there’s not too many noises in life that give me more “happy chills” than the crackling glass sound from throwing a paper at the globe lantern in front of a house in the NES version. However, the graphics of Paperboy on the Nintendo have always looked bland to me even in the 8-bit realm not to mention there’s a similarly awesome brain massaging shatter noise when you throw a paper through a window (just wish you heard it when you broke the glass globes in this game) on the Genesis so round 2 is going to go to the blast processor by a slight edge.
Round 2 Analysis
| Music/Sound | PUSH |
| Graphics | |
Round 2 winner
|
It’s a much closer call in this round as both versions deliver nicely in the music/sound department but I feel that the biggest difference here is the Genesis version looks more impressive visually on its system to me than the NES version which sort of just fades away amongst a huge library of Nintendo games that have better graphics. |
Overall winner
|
It’s a somewhat surprising 2 round victory for the Genesis version over the very solid NES incarnation. Even though the execution is done well on both sides, the Genesis edition is a near doppleganger to the arcade game in all facets which provides a slightly better newspaper throwing experience overall to its 8-bit counterpart. Make no mistake though, the NES loses the battle here but Paperboy still plays quite well on it and is every bit the classic on the Nintendo as the slightly superior Genesis. Even with murky graphics, I still love everything else about the simplistic approach found on the NES edition especially the crazy mesmerizing sound effects and all-time memorable music. However despite the high marks achieved by the NES edition, the Genesis version feels of higher quality and is one of the better examples of seeing a true jump in performance when doubling the bit count. Everything that should be better… IS although some of the sound effects are a little disappointing which I would consider hair-splitting. At the end of the day, if presented with the choice between newspaper delivery boy simulators, throw your periodical into the Sega Genesis mailbox for its deeper gameplay options and impressive arcade sights and sounds as it feels more refined in just about every way. |
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