Tag Archives: action

Dragon’s Lair 3D, GameCube

Known as “Dragon’s Lair 3D: Return to the Lair” in North America, this fully-3D action adventure is a reimagining of Don Bluth‘s classic laserdisc arcade game, Dragon’s Lair. And it works brilliantly well. Dragon’s Lair 3D was published for the GameCube by THQ in Europe, and Encore, Inc. in North America, in 2002. It was also released for PlayStation 2, Windows and XBox.

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Gauntlet II, Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 version of Gauntlet II was developed by Gremlin Graphics and was published by US Gold in Europe, and Mindscape in North America, in 1987.

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Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, Megadrive/Genesis

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master is the second sequel in the Shinobi series, released by Sega – exclusively for the Megadrive/Genesis – in 1993. Shinobi III sees Sega slightly changing the focus of this famous platform/action game, with less emphasis on difficulty and more on the speed at which you play the game and the timings of your attacks. Which will be welcomed by some players.

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The Revenge of Shinobi, Megadrive/Genesis

The Revenge of Shinobi (known in Japan as “The Super Shinobi“) is the 1989 Megadrive/Genesis sequel to the classic Sega arcade game. It once again features Joe Musashi, and takes place three years after the events of the first game. The criminal organization “Zeed” have reformed and have renamed themselves “Neo Zeed“, and they have decided to exact their revenge on the Oboro Ninja Clan by killing Joe’s master and kidnapping his bride, Naoko. So you must rescue your fiancée, and get revenge for the death of your master.

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Shinobi, Sega Master System

The Master System conversion of Sega‘s 1987 arcade game, Shinobi, is arguably the best of its type on the console. The developers have obviously taken care to make the game play well and look as good as possible on Sega‘s 8-bit system.

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Wonder Momo, PC Engine

Developed by Namco and published – in Japan only – by NEC Avenue in 1989, Wonder Momo is a conversion of a weird Japanese arcade game featuring a female lead character who must fight off attackers during a theatre stage play. And, if that sounds bizarre, then – well – that’s because it is! Unlike the arcade original, the PC Engine version of Wonder Momo has been fan-translated into English and Spanish, so is more accessible to Western audiences.

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Wonder Momo, Arcade

I first encountered Namco‘s Wonder Momo on the PC Engine, because it had received a fan translation, and I was curious to see what the game was about. I then discovered that it was a conversion of a 1987 arcade game, featuring a young girl called Momo, who can turn into a ‘superhero’ by building up her “Wonder Meter“.

This bizarre arcade game was only ever released in Japan, but has subsequently built up a cult following around the world, and has also inspired manga/anime, and resulted in a sequel that was released in 2014.

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Express Raider, Arcade

In Data East‘s 1986 Wild West-themed scrolling action game – Express Raider (aka “Western Express” in Japan) – you’re not trying to be the good guy; you’re actually the bad guy, trying to hold up a series of trains and steal as much gold and money as possible.

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Rygar, Atari Lynx

A port of the 1986 Tecmo arcade game, Rygar on the Atari Lynx is a side-scrolling action game where the hero utilises a thrown shield – called The Diskarmor – to destroy his enemies. Rygar was ported to the Lynx by Haehn Software Productions for NuFX, and published by Atari Corporation in 1990.

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