A relatively obscure Taito arcade game from 1989*, Fighting Hawk is a vertically-scrolling bullet hell shooter where you fly an A-10 ‘Tankbuster’ up the screen, fighting its way through waves of enemies and bosses.
Tag Archives: 1989
Skull & Crossbones, Arcade
I hadn’t seen this 1989 arcade game from Atari Games before, until I played it recently, and even then I found it on the Commodore 64 first, then realised that it was an arcade conversion.
Skull & Crossbones has all the ingredients of a classic arcade action game, but – having played it extensively now – I can see why it failed…
Final Fight, Arcade
A side-scrolling beat ’em up released into arcades by Capcom in 1989, Final Fight was originally intended as a sequel to Street Fighter, but was eventually changed after the success of Double Dragon.
Arch Rivals, Arcade
Arch Rivals is a classic basketball video game, developed and manufactured by Midway in 1989. It’s a two-on-two basketball game, and one that encourages players to hit each other to steal the ball.
S.T.U.N. Runner, Arcade
S.T.U.N. Runner is a 1989 arcade game by Atari Games that uses 3D polygonal graphics to create a fast-paced tunnel shooter.
The “S.T.U.N.“, by the way, means “Spread Tunnel Underground Network“, which doesn’t mean a great deal in the grand scheme of things…
Golden Axe, Arcade
Sega‘s classic Golden Axe is a scrolling beat ’em up first released into arcades in 1989. It is fondly-remembered, often re-released, and has been converted to many other systems.
What’s so good about Golden Axe, then?
Puzznic, Arcade
Puzznic is a one or two-player, puzzle-based, tile-matching arcade game, released by Taito in 1989.
And, while it might not look like much, it is actually a very clever and compelling game.
Retrograde, Commodore 64
Developed by Apex Computer Productions, in association with Transmission Software, and published by Thalamus in 1989, Retrograde is a side-scrolling, progressive weapons shooter written by the same guys who made Creatures.
Retrograde came before Creatures, though.
Special Criminal Investigation, Arcade
Sometimes known simply as S.C.I. or Chase HQ 2: Special Criminal Investigation, this high octane driving sequel to Chase HQ is another fast-paced driving game with you playing a cop hot on the heels of some nasty criminals.
It was developed and manufactured by Taito and released into arcades in 1989, and – for my money – is one of the most exciting and heart-pumping 2D chase games ever made.
Aleste Gaiden, MSX
Developed by Compile and released in Japan only in 1989, Aleste Gaiden is the third Aleste game to come out for MSX home computers – specifically: for the MSX2.