Combat, Atari 2600

Combat was designed by Atari, Inc. and first released for the Atari 2600 in 1977 and was the pack-in game for the system until 1982 (meaning: you got a Combat cartridge with the console, upon purchase).

It was one of the first home video games I ever played (probably the same for millions of others) and it enthralled me. Yes, Combat is very simple by today’s standards, but in 1977 it was a revelation and was much cloned by other developers.

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Golden Axe Warrior, Sega Master System

Golden Axe Warrior is an attempt by Sega to replicate the successes of Nintendo‘s The Legend of Zelda, and it kinda works pretty well.

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Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys, PC Engine

This Japanese RPG was released on CD-ROM only on the PC Engine, so required a disc player to work. Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys was first released in 1993 and was developed by Hudson Soft as a single-player, cinematic, cartoon-style RPG, with real time combat and exploration.

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Pitfall!, Atari 2600

David Crane‘s Pitfall! is a pioneering old game, from way back in 1982.

You control Pitfall Harry and must find 32 treasures in 20 minutes. You run and jump from screen to screen, swinging on ropes, jumping on crocodile heads, and avoiding quicksand. Not to mention: creatures that will kill you if you touch them.

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X-Wing, PC

Still considered to be one of the best Star Wars games of all time, X-Wing is a serious, high-tech, fantasy combat sim – in space obviously – with all the different ships from the famous films in there somewhere, modelled in low-res 3D.

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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, NES/Famicom

Although this second Zelda game sold well (more than 4 million copies worldwide at the time), it is not particularly well-liked.

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Pieces, Super Nintendo

Known in Japan as Jigsaw Party, and in the West as Pieces, this 1994 Super Nintendo game is an intriguing and compelling mix of Tetris and jigsaws. Which might sound as dull as hell, but it’s actually surprisingly good.

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