I can distinctly remember reading about so many NES games in Nintendo Power that were scheduled to be released in the US but were cancelled for one reason or another. For the longest time once a game was cancelled that was that and you would never hear about it again. But in these modern times […]Sunman
I can distinctly remember reading about so many NES games in Nintendo Power that were scheduled to be released in the US but were cancelled for one reason or another. For the longest time once a game was cancelled that was that and you would never hear about it again. But in these modern times […]
I really miss Taito as a publisher. I realize that technically they still exist as a part of Square Enix but between their arcade output and console games they were once a known quantity worldwide and that has been lost. They were somewhat underrated back in the day too; everyone knows Capcom and Konami but […]
For years I avoided DinoCity, not because I heard that it was a bad game but because I had preconceived ideas about it. The few reviews I read painted it as a shallow platformer for kids and to a certain extent they are right. Looking at the screenshots and that god awful box art I’ll […]
The Adventures of Little Ralph is the type of platformer those of us naive as to where the industry was headed expected to see more of. As 16-bit waned we as gamers were treated to a feast of future classics such as Donkey Kong Country 2, Yoshi’s Island 2, Sonic & Knuckles and many others. […]
I’ve wanted to do a thorough review on this one for quite some time. For years I’ve read about the differences between Castlevania III and its Japanese counterpart, Akumajou Densetsu. Most of that information was concerning the music but rarely ever went into the gameplay changes between the two versions of the game. Some of […]
There were many licensed games for the NES, some from pretty obvious video game fodder like Batman and others that even I question why they bothered such as Home Alone. But even bearing that in mind the Adventures of Tom Sawyer stands out. This sure as hell wouldn’t have been the first novel I would […]
I can remember ignoring Chiki Chiki Boys for a long time during my Genesis owning days. For one I though the name was stupid. And two compared to the other releases for the system that year (Shining Force and Landstalker owned my soul) it seemed like a throwback. One desperate rental and I was pleasantly […]
Faussete Amour is a game that I coveted for many long years. A random screenshot in a magazine is all I had to go on but it looked so awesome. As a fan of the Valis series (while at the same time acknowledging that they were OK at best) it looked set to scratch that action […]
Up until recently a large number of current generation games were still seeing a release on prior platforms, one to leverage the large install base of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 but also because not many had moved on to the newer platforms. This phenomena is not unprecedented however as Capcom began work on […]
While I have thrown my share of vitriol at Akklaim and LJN for their terrible licensed games I would be remiss if I didn’t get around to Ocean. In many ways Ocean were LJN’s European counterpart as they flooded the market over there with garbage. Thankfully we were spared the vast majority of their output […]
If one were to peruse the unlicensed and pirate game market you’d be surprised at the stuff you’ll find. Usually bootleg games show up long after a hardware manufacturer stops supporting a given platform which is how you end up with stuff like Somari and even an NES version of Final Fantasy 7. These games […]
Go Go Ackman was something of a surprise for me. Much like in the rest of the world licensed manga and anime games are usually garbage in Japan yet GGA bucked that trend and was a surprisingly well done platformer. Especially considering the manga is only about 60 pages long and mostly consisted of disparate […]
I really love seeing the period at the end of a console generation when developers have more or less fully tapped each system’s potential and can produce truly phenomenal games. Donkey Kong Country 2 is one of my favorite platformers of all time; Resident Evil 4 might be in my personal top 10 games list […]
Sunsoft’s Batman was one of the first licensed games I truly fell in love with back in the day. When you’ve been exposed to a steady diet of LJN trash it’s hard not to become skeptical after a while. Yet this one little game completely my perception of what a licensed can and should be. […]
I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese games that manage to retain their heavily localized flavor when brought to the US. There was a silly notion in the early days of the industry that gamers would be turned off by anything too foreign which is why publishers went out of their way to hide the fact […]
Disappointing games are a dime a dozen, with many aiming for greatness and falling far short. Bad games are quickly forgotten yet it is the games that were on the cusp of greatness that seem to leave the most lasting impression. The Adventures of Batman & Robin is one of those games. There are so […]
1995 saw the 16-bit generation go through a downward spiral as the promise of the new 32-bit platforms could not be ignored. 3-d graphics at home was a big draw along with all the new possibilities it could bring. This left the SNES and Genesis looking a bit long in the tooth as many gamers […]
Keith Courage in the Alpha Zones was a middling experience at best, only remembered because it was the pack-in game with the Turbo Grafx-16. Let’s be honest, most of us would never have bought the game separately as it was just so bland. Despite outward appearances Granzort is not a sequel to that game but […]
When Treasure exploded on to the scene with Gunstar Heroes they could do no wrong and for the smart gamers who played it I’m sure there was some anticipation as to what they would do next. Considering their pedigree as Konami veterans who had worked on so many of the classics gamers loved it shouldn’t […]
Bio Senshi Dan was once scheduled for a US release under the title Bashi Bazook: Morphoid Masher. Honestly they should have stuck with its original title as Bashi Bazook is flat out stupid. And this is coming from someone who liked Kabuki Quantum Fighter in spite of its dumb name. While I won’t go so […]
If you were a third party during the 16-bit era it was a prerequisite that you needed some kind of furry mascot to be taken seriously. It’s a silly concept in retrospect but back then a smarmy farm animal in a t-shirt could help your business thrive. Some resisted like Sunsoft but even they eventually […]
One thing I absolutely love about the Sega Genesis library is the fact that the vast majority of worthwhile games released in Japan were brought overseas. Thanks to Sega of America’s aggressive support of the system future classics like Gunstar Heroes, Landstalker, and Beyond Oasis all found homes in a smart gamer’s system. It does […]
While there have been plenty of video games based on Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back oddly enough Return of the Jedi has seen few adaptations, making Super Return of the Jedi all the more distinct. Aside from the pretty cool arcade game and a few obscure PC games the final chapter in the […]
While I was not a humongous fan of Adventure Island the second game in the series went a long way toward making me appreciate what Master Higgins had to offer. It also helped that it also distinguished the games from the Wonder Boy series from which they were derived. After a solid second outing Adventure […]
Looking back it sucks that Capcom took such a huge bath on the console ports of Super Street Fighter 2 and as such began to cut back on their cartridge based titles as we missed out on a few cool games. If you would have told me at any point in the 90s that a […]
I’ve never understood the appeal of the whole super deformed thing. I get the whole “cute” angle of it but aside from the novelty of seeing chibi renditions of your fan favorite characters (as SD is usually applied to popular properties) it does nothing for gameplay. The only time I guess it added any benefit […]
Next to shooters platformers are some of the easiest games to import as any semblance of a story is merely window dressing to get you into the game. With platformers being the de facto genre of choice during the early 90s it’s hard to believe a few slipped through the cracks. The Go Go Ackman […]
It’s strange; by any metric the Valis series is nothing but a bunch of solid and sometimes below average games yet I love them to death. Maybe that love stems from their uniquely Japanese aesthetic or the fact that they make use of extensive cutscenes which to my teenaged mind was the greatest thing ever. […]
I remember the insane marketing blitz surrounding the Rocketeer. From toys, fast food tie-ins, to commercials Disney went all out in a bid to convince you that this was the next big thing. I specifically remember the art deco movie poster and thinking this guy looked incredibly cool. Mind you I was 11 and didn’t […]
I’ll admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ren & Stimpy back in the day. That type of weird gross out humor just wasn’t my cup of tea. But I could recognize a brilliant show despite my lack of interest and Ren & Stimpy was great for what it was. So it came as […]
Captain Silver was released for the Sega Master System at a time where I wasn’t even aware Sega were still supporting the thing in the US. While a decent game it had its fair share of problems, many of them endemic to the arcade game it was based on. With just a few more tweaks […]
It’s interesting to look back and see how 2d action titles tried to differentiate themselves. Castlevania relied on its gothic theme and nuanced gameplay while Gunstar Heroes is all about balls to the wall action. With the advent of the 16-bit consoles came better sound chips along with better graphics and some games tried to […]
Electronic Arts is most famous for their numerous sports games and it is fair to say that they are still number one in that category worldwide. This legacy began on the Genesis however in their early days on the platform they published ports of various PC games. Some were interesting, such as Budokan and the […]
Darker themed SNES games were not as plentiful as on the Genesis but generally speaking for the most part they were all good. There are many import gems waiting to be discovered such as King of Demons and Jaki Crush but not everything can rise to that level. Ushio to Tora is based on the […]
Dinosaurs for Hire? Sure why not? We have Turtles that are ninjas and toads that love to battle so mercenary alien dinosaurs aren’t too far-fetched. It would be easy to lump this in the same category as Battletoads, the Street Sharks, and Biker Mice from Mars but DFH predates all those by almost a decade […]
Of all the publishers entering the 16-market I’m sure many like myself were anticipating what Sunsoft would cook up on the new platforms. As one of the most technically proficient developers during the 8-bit era many of their releases would go on to become videogame classics. While they would create many a fine game during […]
The Adventures of Dino Riki is a game that should have been decent but instead suffers from the types of bad game design and balance that most early NES efforts grappled with. For a game released in 1987 you could maybe overlook its problems but it took two years to make the trip overseas. By […]
Konami’s Rocket Knight Adventures was one of the few mascot platformers to truly bring something new to the table back in 1993 and was able to rise above the sheer overload of terrible, generic platformers to achieve greatness. In a year filled with numerous excellent Genesis titles such as Ecco the Dolphin, Gunstar Heroes, and […]
Sunsoft continually raised the bar as to what was technically possible on the NES with all of their work seemingly culminating in Batman: Revenge of the Joker. But as brilliant as that game is graphically there was one other unknown Sunsoft gem that can compete in a different sense. Gimmick! was once scheduled for a […]
I loved Joe & Mac, both in the arcade and at home. I wasn’t too fond of the many caveman platformers that seemed to spring up out of nowhere back in the day but I’ll tell you one thing, Joe & Mac was far better than pap like Chuck Rock. A sequel was inevitable but […]
Sega Master System fans are intimately familiar with Alex Kidd, the Sega mascot who tried to carry the company to fame years before a certain blue hedgehog was born. Let’s not mince words, Alex Kidd was no substitute for Mario no matter how much you lied to yourself and tried to say otherwise. The monkey […]
Once Sunsoft gained the Looney Tunes license we all knew the usual suspects would be first at bat in terms of videogame adaptations. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck starred in games of varying quality but it was the less famous of the bunch that would receive the most interesting titles. Taz-Mania used a unique perspective […]
Words can’t describe how much I loved Ninja Gaiden growing up. Until the Revenge of Shinobi it was the quintessential ninja game in my opinion and so any game that even remotely seemed similar had my attention. As much as I craved a sequel (which would eventually come and was awesome) there is something to […]
1992 saw many late classics for the NES and allowed the system to go out with its head held high. Or it would have if the flow of games didn’t keep coming. As the last full year the system was supported 1993 had many gems that have now gone on to become highly sought rarities […]
2001 would prove to be a crucial year for the PlayStation 2 as the software that truly showed off the system’s potential and made early adopters proud of their purchase would finally arrive. While the early months after launch were barren by June 2001 games like Gran Turismo 3, Twisted Metal Black and Klonoa 2 […]
Spyro the Dragon was something of a landmark title for the PlayStation. For years it was assumed that the system was not capable of a free roaming 3d platformer like the Nintendo 64 was inundated with. While Crash Bandicoot might have been Sony’s franchise player in that battle it was confined to a straight path; […]
It will forever remain a mystery to me as to why Konami’s Sparkster became a forgotten relic of a time long past. Rocket Knight Adventures was fantastic, both highly original and just an all-around great game. Sequels followed a year later but then nothing for close to 16 years until the decent 3d game. While […]
After his initial Gameboy outing it has become somewhat of a tradition that Kirby’s best outings are released toward the end of given platform’s lifespan. Kirby 64 was one of the last Nintendo 64 games and Kirby’s Return to Dream Land was also one of Nintendo’s last Wii games. Kirby’s Dream Land 3 was released […]
1992’s Dracula movie was one of the biggest film events of the year. With the insane amount of hype behind it Sony Imagesoft were keen to cash in the following year with a series of video games for every conceivable platform available at the time. Seriously even the Sega Master System received a version of […]
I was never a fan of the Legend of Kage, not in the arcade and especially not on the NES. The idea of running through the treetops and fighting ninjas and assassins like in the Kung Fu flicks I used to watch was enticing for all of five minutes before I grew bored of it. […]
When Sega bought publisher Renovation they inadvertently screwed many SNES gamers out of some pretty cool imports. Arcus Odyssey was cancelled (but the full game still exists online), The Journey Home’s localization went kaput, and the subject of this review was also canned. Psycho Dream should have been released here as Dream Probe but sadly […]
Turrican is a series that garnered a massive following in the UK on the various computer formats it debuted on. As Britain’s sort of answer to Contra it isn’t really fair to compare the two series since they are different games gameplay wise. Honestly I’ve always wondered what was the big deal? This became even […]
This review hurts to write. I love the Mega Man games through all of their various incarnations through the good times and the bad. The formula does become repetitive after a while but even in spite of that the games are still good at their core. Mega Man X6 was one of the series’ low […]
Once Super Star Wars was released everyone knew it was a question of when and not if they would produce a sequel. The Empire Strikes Back has gone on to become the most beloved film in the original trilogy and I’m sure many expected the same of the game. It lives up to expectations in […]
We’ve all had our moments of desperation. As little kids most of us only received new games on birthdays, Christmas, or the odd random holiday. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, in which case fuck you. I’m kidding. To fill in that dead time you either had to trade games […]
As one of the biggest supporters of the NES in America Konami released a host of titles in nearly every genre. They had so many games in fact that they created a second label (Ultra Games) to get around Nintendo’s 5 games a year limit. But even that wasn’t enough and many of their best […]
I’ve never envied developers who have to create games based on licenses. Some like DuckTales practically lend themselves to an epic adventure due to the nature of the show. But then there are the likes of the Little Mermaid and Chicken Little; how the hell do you make those compelling? Tiny Toons could easily have […]
Blue Sky Software were Sega of America’s silent partner, responsible for some of the most beloved games SOA published. They were the ones behind the excellent Shadowrun, the graphically impressive but gameplay challenged Jurassic Park, and the awesome World Series Baseball. With that pedigree behind them it should come as no surprise that Vectorman was […]
Capcom worked wonders with the Disney license for NES gamers around the world, creating some of the best platformers money could buy. No small feat considering the stiff competition. Unfortunately we were still a few years away from Sunsoft and Sega doing the same for the Looney Tunes in the 16-bit era. Interestingly enough there […]
Cocoron is the type of game that was desperately needed in the US. Platform games were a dime a dozen in the US by 1991 and many of the established series were starting to churn out formulaic sequels. Meanwhile awesome new titles such as Shatterhand and Vice: Project Doom were flying under the radar. Cocoron […]
Of all of the Looney Tunes characters I am genuinely surprised that the Tazmanian devil exploded in popularity in the early 90s. The cartoon series ran for a number of years and would eventually lead to a slew of loosely based games. The Genesis version, produced by Sega and Recreational Brainware is probably the most […]
Konami’s Wai Wai World was one of the most interesting imports that never made it to the US. As a crossover starring their most famous intellectual properties it had many good ideas buried under some slight missteps. Though flawed it was still a solid game with fantastic graphics. Wai Wai World 2 came three years […]
As much as I wanted to like Adventure Island it skewed a little too closely to the platformer archetype laid down by Super Mario Brothers. It was also a reskin of Wonder Boy, a game I was never too fond of. However while it was fairly unremarkable there were the kernels of a good game […]
The 16-bit generation certainly didn’t need another mascot platformer but any game that at least tried to do something different was appreciated. Plok is a little known platformer from that era that went unnoticed yet managed to introduce elements that would show up in far better games a year or two later. While it has […]
TaleSpin really can’t catch a break when it comes to video games it seems. The NES game was heavily flawed but had the kernel of a good game buried underneath shoddy execution. The Turbo Grafx game…..the less said the better. There was reason to hope the Sega Genesis game would turn out okay as Sega […]
Once upon a time Virgin Interactive were one of the hottest development studios in the industry. With the likes of Dave Perry, Tommy Tallarico, and Doug Tenapel on their roster they turned out some pretty awesome games, especially with the Disney license. After Capcom and Sega Virgin would continue the quality streak set forth by […]
Namco’s Splatterhouse was a significant arcade release for a few reasons. The protagonist with his vaguely Friday the 13thesque mask was an imposing figure and the gobs of gore spilled left and right was definitely unheard of at the time. But forget about the violence, it was an arcade beat em up that didn’t focus […]
Releasing a new IP or sequel in a long running series towards the end of a console generation is equal parts risk and reward. On the one hand you have potentially millions of gamers to sell to but also have to worry that said fans aren’t already awaiting a new console. When it pays off […]
Krion Conquest is one of the most blatant rip-offs you’ll more than likely ever come across. That’s a strong statement but one only has to take a cursory glance at the game for a few minutes to see the rampant similarities to Mega Man. There’s nothing wrong with, ahem, taking inspiration from a popular source […]
I know I can’t be the only who has thought of how awesome it would be if Nintendo or Sega were to create a game starring all of their mascot characters. Of course Smash Bros. came along and wasn’t what I was expecting but still turned out pretty damn awesome. Late in the NES era […]
Jumping to conclusions and making assumptions about video games is common nature when there are so many to choose from. This was especially prominent in the 8-bit era where there were few video game magazines aside from Nintendo Power and EGM providing coverage of the games released. By the latter years of the generation as […]
Once Super Mario 64 revolutionized the industry we all knew, it was only a matter of time until the clones came running. And boy did they! Collectathon 3d adventures replaced the generic 2d mascots of yesteryear and most were just as insipid as Bubsies, Zools, Awesome Possums, and every other furry animal you can imagine. […]
Donkey Kong Country hit the industry with a level of hype not seen since the release of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Brothers 3. With its revival of a long forgotten gaming icon, tight gameplay, arresting visuals, and oh yeah, the insane graphics no one was prepared and it became a monster hit. And […]
With the advent of games like Pitfall and Super Mario Brothers the days of the single screen platformer were numbered. Popular at a point in time where consoles and arcade hardware were not equipped to handle scrolling backgrounds 1985 marked a turning point for the genre. However even in spite of the brilliance of the […]
Like Mario and Nintendo Bonk was the closest the Turbo Grafx-16 ever came to having an official mascot. While Bonk’s Adventure wasn’t the pack-in title it was the one of the first games to garner the system widespread attention. His judiciously large noggin was also heavily used in ads trying to sell the system. But […]
Licensed video games going as far back as ET have been terrible regardless of the quality of the product they are based on. Movie licensed games in particular it seems have a 90% chance to suck especially if the source material is bad. Robocop 2 falls in this category; the movie was so bad even […]
With Mario 64’s impact on the market we all knew it was only a matter of time before a legion of imitators would follow. While most were generic trash there a few that were particularly inspired. Chameleon Twist marked Sunsoft’s reentry as a publisher and although it did not live up to their past exploits […]
With so many versions of each installment in the Valis series floating around it’s pretty challenging to figure out which are worth your time. As much as I’d like to remember the series fondly in truth each game released in the US had problems. Valis II for the Turbo CD is a stripped down version […]
I’ll be the first to admit I was never a big fan of the Wonder Boy series. It was one of the first Master System games I ever played and it just rubbed me the wrong way. So it’s really odd that I found myself overly hyped for Adventure Island. Mind you all I had […]
Little Nemo: the Dream Master was always a title that managed to escape my grasp growing up. Whether it was the flea market, pawn shops, or even Blockbuster video it somehow managed to elude me for years. After all that build up was it worth it? Hell yes. Little Nemo is Capcom at their peak […]
Years before Lunar and Grandia Game Arts collaborated with animation studio Gainax to create a pretty kick ass action game that went unnoticed by everyone. I can’t possibly imagine why, I mean it went through the same Boris Vallejo filter that so many of Sega of America’s other obscure products went through, how could anyone […]
While there were many truly spectacular NES titles released in its waning days not every game was a lost classic. The original Tiny Toons Adventures was a fun if average platformer that could just as easily have been any other game outside of its license. Whether they were trying to squeeze as much as possible […]
The original Clockwork Knight was an above average platformer that offered new 32-bit owners a tantalizing glimpse at what the new platforms of the time had to offer with its insane rendered graphics mixed with polygonal elements. It may not have lived up to its potential due to shallow gameplay but was still fun in […]
Owning the losing console during any console generation frankly sucks with the exception of the 16-bit era. While momentum shifted back and forth between the SNES and Genesis both systems were still host to a horde of exclusive and multiplatform titles that made each worth owning. If you were a Turbo Grafx-16 owner you were […]
Any dedicated shooter fan probably knows the name Toaplan. Even during the 8 and 16-bit when information about the developers of games wasn’t too common I noticed their name in the credits of many of the shmups I played such as Tiger Heli, Sky Shark, Hellfire, and the infamous Zero Wing. But their output wasn’t […]
For as much as I harp on bad licensed videogames in the US it’s not as if Japan and Europe were not subjected to the same rash of cheap product. In the UK Ocean were generally the first to jump on any movie license and usually flooded every PC format with sub-par pap. And Japan […]
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Mario should be blushing red as a beet at this point. The success of Super Mario Brothers inspired the video game industry to spawn a sea of blatant clones. Amongst the mascot platformer rush of the 90s Sonic the Hedgehog became the most popular due to […]
Whomp’Em huh? I’m sure there is someone out there patting themselves on the back for that one. “Clever” name aside Whomp’Em is one of many titles that were changed during the localization process to something that would be more recognizable to an American audience. Sometimes these changes were for licensing reasons; the anime that Shatterhand […]
As much as I’ve had a good laugh publicly shaming the terrible licensed games of the past occasionally there is one that hits a little close to home and Predator is one of those titles. Folks what I’m about to write hurts; Predator for the NES sucks. I saw Predator in the theater in 1987 […]
For as much as I lament the Turbo Grafx-16’s library for its overabundance of shooters it’s not because of a lack of games in other genres, it’s because they were terrible. Fans of platformers were especially screwed as they had to watch Sega and Nintendo practically reinvent the genre every year with new Sonic and […]
We all remember Capcom pumping out a stream of hit Disney titles during the 8-bit era followed by Virgin who also did the license proud with the likes of the Lion King and Jungle Book. But Sega seems to be forgotten constantly when reminiscing about those halcyon days when a licensed game could be good. […]
When you stop and analyze all of the releases it’s incredible that there are really only three or four actual good Simpsons games. With the show becoming such a breakout hit after its debut I’m sure there were many potential licensors champing at the bit to exploit the license in search of a quick buck, […]
Growing up I loved fantasy movies like Willow and the Never Ending Story. This fetish for the material fostered an interest in hack and slash action games like Legendary Axe and Astyanax. So you can imagine my excitement when I heard of Saint Sword for the Genesis. Rastan Saga II had already disappointed me (after […]
When you think of mascot games they’re usually extremely polished affairs that put their best foot forward to present their home company in a positive light. Mario, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, even Gex managed to star in some pretty awesome games (that’s not a slight against Gex, but honestly he was in the C-tier of mascots). […]
With the success of the their Star Wars trilogy of games for the Super NES it only makes sense that Lucas Arts would turn to their second biggest property as the next to receive the all-star treatment. While they had their share of flaws that series would still serve as an excellent template for Indiana […]
Despite his status as one of the most frustrating enemies to deal with in videogame history alongside Castlevania’s Medusa heads Firebrand/Red Arremer has been fortunate to star in 3 outstanding games. The Gargoyle’s quest series has spanned 3 consoles, the original Gameboy outing, the final SNES installment and this lesser known NES entry. 1992 can […]
Few games have hit the market with the impact of Donkey Kong Country. By the time 1994 rolled around the Genesis had been on the market for 6 years and the SNES was entering its 4th. It was reasonable to assume most developers knew the limits of both consoles but then the Summer CES came […]
I don’t envy the development team at Capcom who were tasked with creating a sequel to DuckTales. The original was a huge international success and is universally voted as one of the greatest games of all time. Following up that level of acclaim would be a tall order for anyone and it would be pointless […]
By 1993 the writing was on the wall and it was time for the NES to walk off into the sunset with its head held high. Nintendo graced the system with one of its finest games, Kirby’s Adventure the Christmas and publisher support had all but dried up, to the point where Capcom would pass […]
As much as we love Bomberman for its riotous multiplayer mode let’s be honest, the single player campaign has been tolerable at best. Through five installments on the SNES and the awesome Bomberman ’93 on the Turbo Grafx-16 this has held true but the N64’s release provided an opportunity to put a new spin on […]
Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse was a huge success for Capcom, one in a long line of successful Disney licensed games from their development studios but even more so as it was their first one for a 16-bit console. So it stands to reason that a sequel would follow, cuz we all know just how […]
Ah, LJN, my arch nemesis, we meet again. Wherever a popular license existed back in the 80s and 90s LJN were there to completely fuck it up in search of the quick and easy buck. The number of franchises from other media ruined by this company reads like a hit list; X-Men, Terminator, Jaws, and […]
You know, there’s no other way to describe Monster Party then weird. That should clue you in as to the amount of strange shit going on in the game considering the thousands of games released since. As a loose homage to the classic movie monster films of yesteryear Monster Party certainly lives up to its […]
Konami had lofty plans for Castlevania 64, setting out to create one of the most ambitious 3d adventures of the time. However between their developmental inexperience and the reality of the monster they were trying to create Castlevania 64’s initial release was a scaled back version of what they originally planned. Less than a year […]
Even on a console as awesome as the NES there were still many games that fell through the cracks or never saw US shores. For the most part we did receive most of the absolute cream of the crop but there are some glaring omissions. I still question why Konami left Parodius, Wai Wai World […]
1991-92 were truly epic years in the NES’s life. At that point the hardware had been on the market for 6 years in the US (8 in Japan) meaning developers were squeezing every last drop of power the little grey box could muster. Some true classics were released in that time frame such as Super […]
I really miss Taito. While they never quite achieved the level of acclaim as Capcom & Konami they were a lot like Natsume in that they still released many kick ass action games that were just as good if not better than their competition. Games like Power Blade and Kickmaster were some of the best […]
He’s a freaking seal! Think about all of the mascot platformers you’ve either seen or played in the past. Mario, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, Bubsy, Aero the Acrobat……Croc. They were all based around cool animals (except Mario, but we can excuse him because his games are awesome) but a Seal? I don’t think there’s ever been […]
For the publishers that hung in there toward the end of the NES life it might as well have been a license to print money. With an audience in the millions and years of platformers under their belts most publishers probably had plenty of engines they could use to spit out a game in record […]
Where is the PlayStation mascot? It’s hard to believe but in the mid-90s there was still the prevailing myth that every console needed a wise ass animal to be the corporate shill of the company. Nintendo had Mario, Sega had Sonic, 3DO had….Gex I guess, and Atari had…..no one gave a damn. As the PlayStation […]
I remember Christmas of 1990. Opening the gifts and seeing two NES carts: Rad Racer and Kid Niki. Rad Racer was awesome for what it is but it was that pink box with the bad ass ninja in a yellow gi (I know, an oxymoron) that intrigued me. Misleading box arts had been taken to […]
For all of Sega’s misfortune in the gaming you have to give credit where it’s due, they were always thinking ahead of the curve. The Sega Channel can be seen as an early form of the digital distribution system we enjoy today. They were one of the first to embrace CD technology in video games […]
Long before Pokemon a different monster collecting craze swept the world: Monster in my Pocket. Oh you’ve never heard of them? Truth be told neither had I at the time. Not to make it sound as though I was in tune with all the hot trends of the early 90s but Monster in my Pocket […]
It’s always sad to see a mascot fall from grace. Like Hollywood movie stars the trip to the bottom is usually a painful process, with few bowing out of the spotlight gracefully. While the Crash Bandicoot games never degenerated to the level of repetition of the later Mega Man games he never reached the height […]
Why must you hurt us so bad Capcom? By now everyone has least heard of or played at least one game in the Ghouls N Ghosts series. Known for their technical excellence as well as their perfect blend of platforming with white knuckle action the series also holds another distinction: ridiculous challenge. Every game in […]
With the close of the 8-bit era all eyes turned to Capcom to see what they would do with their Disney license. Sunsoft had already moved on and acquired the Looney Tunes license and begun to release games of varying quality. The majority of Capcom’s 8-bit releases ranged from excellent to classic. So it was […]
It’s kind of a mystery to me as to why the games starring Jackie Chan aren’t very popular. Not only is he one of the most bad ass action movie stars of all time but his goofy persona lends itself well to nearly any setting you can imagine. Even prior to his debut in American […]
It’s hard to believe kids today have no knowledge of or exposure to the Tiny Toons Adventure characters. I mean back in the early 90s this was huge. After well over a decade of simply showing reruns of the classic Looney Tunes characters Warner Brothers, in collaboration with Steven Spielberg created a new batch of […]
At the end of the 16-bit era the platformer had been perfected. With nearly the entire industry cranking them out for the better part of a decade the mechanics typical of the genre were honed to perfection and gamers were treated to some of the finest games ever made such as Donkey Kong Country 2, […]
Now that I look back on it the Turbo Grafx-16 has very few pure side scrolling platformers. Oh it’s well documented just ridiculously over crowded the system is with shooters but for those that enjoy a good butt bouncing like Mario or Sonic there were few choices. Irem’s Legend of Hero Tonma was an arcade […]
Ugh what an awful fucking game. This happened to be released pretty early on in the NES life, before kids around the world knew that movie licensed games sucked. It also happened to be based on a pretty popular movie, so of course we thought the game would be awesome. We couldn’t have been more […]
Once upon a time David Perry was part of an incredible team at Virgin Interactive who were capable of turning any license into gold. The likes of McDonalds, Disney, and Warner Bros. were graced by their hands and in 1993 they created their strangest product yet, Cool Spot. There is no story, all you […]
Talk about flying under the radar. Sony Imagesoft weren’t known for putting out quality games during the 16-bit era; I’m talking drek like Cliffhanger and Last Action Hero. Every so often the planets would align and we were graced with classic gems like Hook or Mickey Mania. However few were even aware of this classic […]
During the great mascot battle of the 16-bit era Mickey Mouse was one of the few to star in some of the most consistently excellent platformers during that period. It’s hard to believe an icon of his stature would somehow be overlooked but considering the glut of platformers it was bound to happen to […]
To be frank I don’t know if I actually like 3-D World Runner or hate its guts. It’s that divisive. In the time before Final Fantasy Square tried their hand at many genres with games like Rad Racer and King’s Knight. 3-D World Runner could be billed as a failed experiment, at least in the […]
Time certainly can be cruel. I remember Valis as a kick butt series of action games for each platform they graced. However as time passed and the bar was raised they were simply competent in the face of such classics as Earthworm Jim, Gunstar Heroes, etc. While Valis IV is one of the stronger entries […]
What an odd little game. Karnov was Data East’s mascot, appearing in a few of his own games and cameo appearances in their Fighter’s History series. How they decided a fat Russian strongman would be the mascot for a Japanese company we’ll probably never know however the game he starred in is a pretty decent […]
In the early days of the 32-bit era the majority of the development community floundered as they tried to figure out the best way to translate certain genres to 3D. Through their years of working with the 3DO Crystal Dynamics certainly had a leg up on the competition but it’s still even so the quality […]
Among the opening salvo of first party Nintendo games Kid Icarus has always been the red headed stepchild of the bunch (literally). I’ve never been able to figure out why it never achieved the same level of popularity that classics such as Metroid or the Legend of Zelda did. This is a shame because even […]
I love me some Darkwing Duck. Created as a spoof of superheroes, the show was one of Disney’s best original creations back in the early 90s. This was the golden age of Disney properties so it came as no surprise when Capcom, purveyors of many a classic Disney platformer released one based on the series […]
Despite its issues Wizards & Warriors became a hit and like all hit games a sequel was soon to follow. It’s always interesting to see what direction a developer will take when it comes to following up a successful game. Will they simply copy & paste a new skin and essentially create an expansion pack […]
Absolute crushing disappointment. That’s the only way I can sum up Yoshi’s Story. You have to understand: this was the sequel to Yoshi’s Island, one of the greatest platformers ever made! And now the next iteration was going to the N64, imagine what they could achieve with 64-Bits! Well their vision and our imaginations took […]
Toward the end of nearly every console’s life a number of hidden gems are released. Sadly these games go unnoticed because the majority of the console’s user base has moved on. The NES was no stranger to this phenomenon, and admittedly it’s kind of hard to pay attention to the little buddy when one […]
Joe & Mac was a fun if flawed action romp released early in the SNES’s life and was a pretty damn good if rushed arcade port. Congo’s Caper, a little known platformer released the following year was actually a sequel developed exclusively for the home market and continued the tradition despite being a strange game. […]
During the Disney “renaissance” years in gaming there were bound to be a few games that slipped through the cracks. When you’re rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ducktales and Darkwing Duck it’s kind of hard to stand out. While it was somewhat popular in its day Chip & Dale’s Rescue Rangers has been forgotten, […]
When Sony entered the console arena with the PlayStation they were not known as an exceptionally strong developer. Psygnosis and Singletrac created many of their initial hits but the memory of 16-bit turds such as Cliffhanger and Last Action Hero still lingered. So it was quite a surprise when Medievil showed up at the 1997 […]
Every so often as I take my daily trips down memory lane with retro video games I come across a game that I initially look back on as a classic. However once the controller is in hand I discover they’re anything but. You could argue that Wizards and Warriors is classic but then my question […]
To a legion of gamers the analogue stick has always been the preferred method of control in video games. To them it always existed. But that isn’t the case. Those of us who have been at this hobby for 2 decades or more remember the early years of the Playstation and Saturn. 3d games were […]
In the last days of the PlayStation Sony more or less stopped giving a damn about what was released and as such many publishers used it as an opportunity to release terrible games at budget prices. It’s downright fascinating just how much of this cheap crap went on to become record best sellers. Spec Ops […]
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog Sega pulled out all of the stops in creating Sonic Adventure 2. Though their venerable mascot had seen many highs and lows there was a resurgence in popularity due to his previous adventure. Keen to capitalize on that his second Dreamcast adventure was given all the […]
Somewhere along the way Sonic missed a step. A slew of lame spinoffs in an attempt to mimic the success Nintendo had achieved with Mario left the plucky Hedgehog with one foot in the mascot grave. But like a phoenix (corny I know) Sega came out swinging and restored some measure of respect to their […]
In this day and age of constant retro compilations anyone can experience classic gaming from years past. It’s hard to believe but at one point such collections of old games were not very common, with the main standout being Super Mario Allstars. In 1997 Sega graced us with Sonic Jam, a set that was more […]
Volumes can be written about the various missteps Sega made with the Saturn. From the surprise early release, exorbitant price point, and lackluster offerings Sega of America focused on instead of bringing Japanese exclusives it was an unmitigated disaster. Probably the biggest crime was never releasing a pure Sonic game. Oh there were Sonic games […]
It was a lot easier to surprise gamers in the 90s since the internet was not readily available. Most of us received our info from magazines that were usually 2-3 months behind current events. So in mid 1994 when Sega announced Sonic & Knuckles it came as a surprise to everyone since Sonic 3 had […]
After missing the crucial 1993 holiday season and leaving us with the subpar Sonic Spinball, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 had a lot to live up to. Sonic 2’s release was a worldwide event with its simultaneous launch around the world so the expectations were high to live up to or surpass that standard. The question […]
For all of its successes there was still a vocal contingent who felt Sonic the Hedgehog 2 somehow strayed from its roots. Honestly I don’t see it but there are nutty people in all walks of life. Some attribute this to its development in America but regardless something was off. The remaining members of Sonic […]
Sonic the Hedgehog did the impossible: give Sega its own mascot and to also showcase just how different they were from Nintendo, in the process achieving god tier status. Everyone knew it was just a matter of time until a sequel would come and it sure did. Its release would become an event around the […]
The videogame graveyard is littered with the bodies of failed mascots from publishers past who tried to get a piece of that sweet Mario platforming pie. In their eyes it should have been easy to replicate that success: create a cute character, give him some floating platforms to jump on and call it a day. […]
I figure I’ve made fun of it enough that I should give it it’s just due. Much has been written about Awesome Possum, another contestant in the generic mascot platform wars. And none of it good. But on closer inspection is it really as bad as it is portrayed? Well someone has to put […]
Some things are best left in the past. Nostalgia can obscure your memory to the truth, making you fondly remember something that in all actuality was pretty terrible. He-Man for instance was not a good cartoon no matter how badly I wish otherwise. In my mind Valis was a kick ass action game but in […]
New console launches are always full of promise. New technology! New ideas! We look to new hardware to see what years of new technology can do to wow us and give us that feeling of being a kid all over again. Super Mario Brothers revolutionized the industry, Super Mario 64 did the same once again, […]
The original Batman for NES was everything we were looking for in a Batman game: pretty, challenging, and most of all fun. After its success it was only a matter of time until a sequel was announced. Batman: Return of the Joker in many ways surpassed expectations while also falling short of them. Batman: Return […]
Shame on you Capcom. Mega Man X5 wrapped up the X saga more or less completely and should have lead into the Mega Man Zero series like planned. But you had to get greedy. The first question is: Why? It’s not as though gamers were begging for another game in the X series on the […]
At a time when most series were being held back for their 32-bit debut Capcom decided to give Mega Man X one last hurrah on the SNES. Mega Man X3 was released at the tail end of the system’s life in the US and is among its last major releases. As absurd as it sounds […]
Throughout the 16-bit era almost every major franchise saw an update. These iterations used the advanced features of the consoles of the time to really go to town and flesh out the original creators intentions. From Mario to Castlevania to the Ninja Turtles your favorite gaming heroes were stepping out in style. But one icon […]
Whatever happened to Caveman video games? It’s a weird tangent to start on but at one point there were an assortment of Neanderthal heroes across the video game landscape, protecting us from the animal mascot menace. The likes of Chuck Rock, Bonk, Big Nose the Caveman, and even puzzle games like the Humans were all […]
Whenever we think of the NES the legendary games that carved out the modern gaming landscape we still enjoy come to mind. Super Mario Brothers, Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Castlevania, the games that still benefit from new releases to this day. Unfortunately in the wake of those heavy hitters many games that were just […]
Disney’s Aladdin was a phenomenon the likes of which hadn’t been seen in quite awhile. Even I was a fan and got swept up in the marketing blitz, and I was more or less indifferent to most of Disney’s offerings by that point. The videogames that followed were almost all excellent with the Sega Genesis […]
It’s always a shame when an outstanding game goes completely under the radar. We would like to believe if a game is good enough it will find an audience. This isn’t always the case, with many of the highest rated games being ignored at retail. This occurs frequently during the holiday season as every publisher […]
In 1992 Disney’s Aladdin was practically the movie event of the year. Featuring fantastic animation and a wonderful story it was one of the most successful movies of the year which meant a deluge of video games were soon to follow. The Sega game garnered the most attention, and rightfully so, but the SNES game […]
During the 32-bit era there was a disturbing trend of taking beloved franchises and slapping them in 3d, as if that were enough to instantly make them better. Once you take into account 90% of the developers in the industry had no experience working with 3d you can see how the results were usually […]
We all have them. Objects of desire. Those things that for whatever reason have reached such near mythical status in our minds that we feel we absolutely must have them. In the gaming world these usually take the form of limited editions of games, imports, or unreleased games. In this case, long time fans of […]
It’s strange that Konami was one of the last major publishers to come to the Genesis. While most third parties did not hesitate to run screaming from Nintendo’s strong arm tactics of the 80s they held fast. Granted, their SNES output was more than enough to sustain them but why not chase the dollars of […]
The early years of the SNES life were a pretty magical time. Many beloved franchises received new installments, usually with the Super moniker to remind you that now you’re playing with power. Super power. While the vast majority of those games were good, one game that was truly exceptional and deserving of the Super moniker […]
They say the third time is the charm and on the NES that definitely seemed to be the case. A very weird trend emerged on the system where the second game in each series was a departure from what made the first game popular. You can see this in Super Mario Brothers 2, Zelda 2, […]
Though it was popularized by Symphony of the Night that wasn’t the first time the Castlevania series had flirted with RPG mechanics. That distinction belongs to Castlevania II, a game with a very storied history among gamers for a variety of reasons. It would continue the streak among NES games in which the 2nd game […]
It’s funny how some of the most legendary franchises in gaming got their start. Werewolves, mummies, vampires, these are all classic movie monsters that people are familiar with. Basing a game on fighting these creatures doesn’t seem all that exciting at first; plenty of games by that point had at least dabbled with with […]
I have a love and hate relationship with the Ghouls and Ghosts series. When the games are good they are phenomenal. When they’re bad they are some of the most god awful terrible games known to man. The NES port of the arcade game is one of the most frustrating games created and should be […]
After the success of Bonk’s Adventure a sequel was inevitable. That it turned out so well was no surprise as the first game, while rough around the edges, was still a fun game. All they had to do was smooth out those flaws but instead they went above and beyond the call of duty. The […]
In the great pantheon of console mascots everyone remembers Mario, Sonic, and Crash Bandicoot. Those are the most obvious, and the ones that achieved the most success out of the glut of platformers that bombarded the market. But there’s one mascot that is never remembered and forced to sit in the back of the bus. […]
In the 8-bit era Capcom were one of a few publishers that were virtually untouchable. Nearly every game they put out was a classic, with franchises that endure to this day. Licensed products from Acclaim and Ocean cluttered up store shelves but Capcom were able to turn that license into the equivalent of video game […]
Whenever a new system launches everyone looks for that one title. The one that justifies whatever price you have to pay just to experience it. In the past these would usually be packed in with the system, like Sonic the Hedgehog or Super Mario Brothers. For the Turbographx-16 that game was Legendary Axe. Legendary Axe […]
For those of us that love arcade games the early years of the Sega Genesis life were practically a dream come true. The holy grail in those days was the arcade perfect port, or at least as close as possible to recreate the arcade feel at home. The NES and Master System saw their share […]
Unlike the 16-bit generation Capcom didn’t wait very long to start their Mega Man releases when the 5th generation came along. Both Mega Man and the X series would see new releases in the US in 1997. Mega Man 8 was released in the beginning of 1997 for both the Saturn and the Playstation to […]
Just as it took years for the Mega Man X series to get its start on the SNES, the continuation of the original series did not come until the tail end of the SNES lifespan in the US. Mega Man 7 was released in 1995 and unlike before is the only game in the main […]
The final installment in the series for NES, Mega Man 6 oddly enough was released well after everyone else had moved on from publishing 8-bit games. This included Capcom who opted not to release the game themselves and instead publishing duties fell to Nintendo of America, who released the game in the beginning of 1994 […]
After the backlash against Mega Man 4 Capcom went back to the drawing board and released the follow up in the same year. Mega Man 5 was released in December 1992 for all territories except Europe. A bold move, as the 16-bit systems were hitting their stride and most other franchises had moved on. It […]
The great mascot platformer rush of the early 90s was really a sight to behold. Mario and Sonic were king of the roost, and still are (well one of them is) and like sharks that smell blood in the water every publisher wanted in. This led to a really horrible glut of generic platformers starring […]
Buying a licensed video game nowadays is like playing Russian Roulette in that more often than not you’ll end up with a giant turd. But once upon a time that wasn’t the case! The likes of Capcom and Konami spun video game gold out of some of the most unlikely licenses, especially Disney. You could […]
