Little Ninja Brothers is the second game in the “Super Chinese” series* and the predecessor of Super Ninja Boy on the SNES. It was developed and published by Culture Brain in Japan in 1989. North America got it in 1990 and Europe in 1991.
It is an excellent one or two-player level-grinding RPG, with random battles, but instead of turn-based combat you get real time beat ’em up action instead, and works very well.
Super Ninja Boy is an action role-playing game developed by Culture Brain and released on the SNES in 1991 in Japan, and in 1993 in North America.
It’s a sequel to Culture Brain‘s previous title, Little Ninja Brothers for the NES, and it’s not a brilliant game the truth be told, but it does hold a special place in my heart because it was one of the first games I ever reviewed as games journalist.
Pengo on the Megadrive is an excellent remake of the classic Sega arcade game, Pengo, and it was published on cartridge (unfortunately in Japan only) in 1995.
Published in Japan by Hudson Soft in 1996, Do-Re-Mi Fantasy is a cute and colourful platform game that is actually the sequel to the Famicom game Milon’s Secret Castle.
Do-Re-Mi Fantasy doesn’t really look like Milon’s Secret Castle – or play like it for that matter – but it does share the same bubble-blowing DNA as its predecessor.
Hudson Soft‘s 1986 NES release, Milon’s Secret Castle, is a platform game with a focus on uncovering secrets. Either by shooting walls and platforms with bubbles, or by headbutting certain tiles.
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a 2007 remake of the 1993 PC Engine CD game, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, with 3D graphics, but used in a 2D, side-scrolling manner.
Gameplay is identical to most other Castlevania games – even though it uses 3D graphics – and Konami must be given credit for not mucking it up, even though they could easily have done that.
Mega Man Powered Up is a 2006 remake of the original NES Mega Man game, only this time with ‘chibi’ style graphics and a host of new gameplay options.
Not least of which is the ability to play the game as any one of Mega Man‘s arch enemies – once you’ve beaten them in a boss fight.
Published by Square Enix in 2007, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a Sony PSP exclusive that pays tribute to the classic Final Fantasy VII, but with a different style of combat. It was released for the 10th anniversary of FF7.
Developed by TOSE and published by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable in 2006, Ultimate Ghosts ‘N Goblins is a remake of the classic arcade game Ghosts ‘N Goblins (and its even better sequel, Ghouls ‘N Ghosts), combining them together with new levels, new enemies, new weapons, new armour, new bosses, and new 3D graphics.
A conversion of an MSX2 remake of the classic arcade game, Xevious, published on the PC Engine by Namcot in 1990. And – like a lot of PC Engine shooters – it is a good experience.
The King of Grabs 