Tag Archives: 2D graphics

Flat, two-dimensional graphics, usually constructed of pixels. Not three-dimensional.

Pokémon Pearl, Nintendo DS

While I wouldn’t call myself a Pokémon fanatic, I do really enjoy the games because they are so well made, and because I love level-grinders. Pokémon Pearl (and its companion, Diamond) is considered by many as one of the best games in the series, and people still love to play it now.

Compared to previous generations, Pokémon Pearl has lots of new features, and compared to later generations: the series hasn’t yet started to collapse under its own weight.

Continue reading Pokémon Pearl, Nintendo DS

Dragon Quest IX, Nintendo DS

The follow-up to the classic PS2 game Dragon Quest VIII is another fine level-grinder, with cheerful, colourful graphics and mesmerising gameplay. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix on the Nintendo DS in 2009.

Getting straight down to it: Dragon Quest IX (nine) is similar to the previous game in the series, but with a few fundamental changes…

Continue reading Dragon Quest IX, Nintendo DS

Booty, Commodore 16/Plus4

A 1986 conversion of a hit ZX Spectrum budget game, the Commodore 16 conversion of John F. Cain‘s Booty is about as bad as a video game can get.

The game constantly dumps unfairness on you, and is about as entertaining as being crawled on by a Brazilian Wandering Spider.

Continue reading Booty, Commodore 16/Plus4

Leprechaun, Arcade

Ugh… Now this is a turkey of a game if ever I saw one… Created by Tong Electronics in 1982, Leprechaun is a dour collect ’em up that was designed for children but in fact offends their intelligence.

In fact: it would probably offend everyone now, except for those people who want to play the worst video games of all time, in which case it is probably mana from heaven…

Continue reading Leprechaun, Arcade

Puzznic, PC Engine

Puzznic on the PC Engine was converted by Taito themselves and released in 1990. Was it a Japanese release only? Seems like it might have been…

Puzznic might not look like much but it is actually a truly brilliant game. It first came out as an arcade game in 1989.

It’s a one or two-player game (take it in turns two-player, not simultaneous) where the aim is to clear blocks on various different-shaped boards.

Continue reading Puzznic, PC Engine

California Games, Atari 2600

Epyx programmed this 1988 conversion of California Games themselves, and – to be honest – it’s actually not that bad, considering the Atari 2600‘s limitations.

Continue reading California Games, Atari 2600

Gunple: Gunman’s Proof, Super Nintendo

Gunple: Gunman’s Proof was developed by Lenar and published by ASCII Corporation in 1997. It was one of the last games to be released for the SNES and was only ever released in Japan. An English fan translation does exist, though, which means that non Japanese speakers can enjoy this wonderful game.

In essence, Gunple could be described as ‘Zelda with guns’ or a ‘Wild West Zelda‘, because – graphically – the game does have a lot of similarities to Nintendo‘s classic A Link To the Past. In fact: some of the background graphics, in my opinion, appear to have been lifted from the aforementioned Zelda game, which in reality is no bad thing.

Continue reading Gunple: Gunman’s Proof, Super Nintendo

Navy SEALS, Commodore 64

Licensed from an Orion Pictures film of the same name, Navy SEALS is a surprisingly decent release from Ocean.

No one remembers the film at all, although quite a few remember this 1990 game, and generally think quite highly of it.

Continue reading Navy SEALS, Commodore 64