Tag Archives: action

Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Dōchū: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake, Super Nintendo

Also known (in English) as: “Go for it! Goemon: The Twinkling Journey – The Reason I Became a Dancer“, this fourth instalment of the much-loved Goemon [Super Nintendo] series is about as crazy, challenging and fun as a video game can be.

Many feel that this final Goemon game on the Super Nintendo is the best in the series, so it’s great that it’s finally been given an (unofficial) English translation. The game follows the same pattern as previously, with isometric exploration sections, interspersed with side-scrolling platform/action sections.

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Knight Games, Commodore 64

Knight Games, by English Software, was something of a sensation when it was first released in 1986. It is an historical fighting game, featuring knights in armour, fighting for victory in a multi-event tournament.

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Desert Strike, Atari Lynx

This conversion of the classic Sega Megadrive/Genesis game, Desert Strike, is about as good as you could expect on the Atari Lynx. Meaning: that it is very, very good indeed.

In fact: it is surprisingly close to the original, but obviously with smaller, more condensed graphics.

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Gauntlet: The Third Encounter, Atari Lynx

While Gauntlet: The Third Encounter is an admirable effort on the Atari Lynx, it has to be said that it really isn’t Gauntlet. Not the Gauntlet that we know and love anyway…

Which isn’t a surprise when you take into account the fact that this game didn’t start out as Gauntlet – it was called “Time Quests and Treasure Chests” and was developed by Epyx, and was later turned into a Gauntlet game by Atari for “brand recognition purposes”.

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Steel Talons, Atari Lynx

Steel Talons is a helicopter action game that was converted to the Atari Lynx from the 1991 arcade game of the same name.

This conversion was developed by NuFX, Inc. and first came out in 1992.

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Shadow Warrior, PC

This remake of the classic Build engine shooter, Shadow Warrior, was developed by Flying Wild Hog and first released in 2013.

Like the original, it’s a hectic, balls-to-the-wall shooter that follows the exploits of a guy called Lo Wang and his fight against his boss, Orochi Zilla, and the mega corporation he commands (Zilla Industries).

I’ve played the second game extensively and really enjoyed it, so decided to buy this and see if it was any different. And it is!

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Steel Talons, Arcade

Steel Talons is a helicopter action game that uses 3D, polygonal graphics to represent the playing area. It was developed and manufactured by Atari Games in 1991.

This being from the early 1990s: the 3D graphics are quite simple, and Steel Talons does look complicated to play on first inspection, but the gameplay is actually fairly simple.

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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.

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Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijyūrokubei no Karakuri Manji Katame, Super Nintendo

The second sequel to the wonderful Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijyūrokubei no Karakuri Manji Katame was again only ever released in Japan and was recently given a fan translation, allowing English-speaking audiences to finally enjoy it.

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Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu, Super Nintendo

The sequel to the wonderful Konami hit, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu (translated title being: Goemon 2: The Strange General McGuinness) was released in 1993, but only in Japan.

A brilliant fan translation was released just this year – February 2020 to be precise – which now makes this fantastic game more accessible to Western audiences.

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