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.
Tag Archives: action
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.
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.
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.
Chase HQ, Sega Master System
The Sega Master System version of Taito‘s classic Chase HQ was first released in 1991, and it is a relatively poor approximation of the ground-breaking arcade game.
Knights of the Round, Arcade
Knights of the Round is a three-player hack-and-slash arcade game, developed and distributed by Capcom in 1991. The fact that the developers – for whatever reason – neglected to include the word “Table” at the end of the title of their game hints at some hilariously bad translation, and plenty of terrible spelling mistakes, which is exactly what you get in this game…
Action Force, ZX Spectrum
Developed by Gang of Five and published by Virgin Games in 1987, Action Force is a scrolling shooter set in the world of the Action Force toys by Hasbro/Milton Bradley (aka G.I. Joe toys in North America). Action Force was also released for the Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC, although the Spectrum version is notably different to those versions.
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, PlayStation 2
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows is the seventh game in the Gauntlet series, and is a much better attempt to bring the game into the 3D gaming realm than Gauntlet Legends or Gauntlet Dark Legacy, the previous two games in the series. It was developed by Midway Studios San Diego and published by Midway Games for the PlayStation 2 and XBox in 2005. An XBox 360 version was released in 2008.
Gauntlet Dark Legacy, Arcade
Gauntlet Dark Legacy is the sixth title in the Gauntlet series, and is an expansion of the previous game, Gauntlet Legends. It was developed by Midway Games West and was first released into arcades in 1999.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Game Boy Advance
Developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published for the Game Boy Advance by Ubisoft in 2003, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a scrolling action game based on the Oscar-winning film of the same name.
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