I can’t bring myself to use the subtitle of this game in the main title, because it’s such a hideously bad translation… I’ll just call the game “Fancy World” and leave out the “Earth of Crisis” part… 🙂 The intro sequence also has some of the funniest English videogame translations I’ve ever read… So, for lovers of bad translations, this game is a goldmine. 🙂

Developed by Unico Electronics of South Korea in 1995 and first released into arcades in 1996, Fancy World is an obscure arcade game that few people will have ever heard of. In spite of the dodgy title screen, the bad translations, and the silly name, this game is actually really rather good. It’s a bit like Taito‘s superb Parasol Stars, or SNK‘s Nightmare in the Dark, and it even has a two-player cooperative mode, like those games.

Playing as either a blue-haired girl, or a ‘Kung-Fu’ guy, the aim is to kill all the enemies on each screen and collect anything that will score you points. Playing cooperatively is the arguably the best way to do this.

There are good items to pick up (Power, Speed, Range and Super), and bad items to avoid (tobacco and whiskey). There’s also a “special laser” that can be utilised when collected, which – contrary to the on-screen instructions – seems to activate after collecting the big red heart.

If you take too long to complete a level, a gate appears and from it comes an indestructible ghost who will chase you.

The in-game graphics are really very good, with superb hand-drawn 2D visuals, with a distinct style and lots of cute animals. It wouldn’t surprise me if Fancy World was aimed at girls. Or maybe the devs tried to appeal to girls in particular? Who knows? I’d say this game is good for all genders and ages, and especially for kids.

At the time of writing, Fancy World is available on the retro gaming subscription service, Antstream. Alongside many other games. [Not sponsored, just an observation].

More: Fancy World: Earth of Crisis on Moby Games