Tag Archives: console

FromSoftware, PlayStation

King’s Field, PlayStation

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With Elden Ring currently wowing gamers I thought I’d take a look at the series that began FromSoftware‘s journey into the action RPG genre, and that would be King’s Field – released in Japan only in 1994 for the Sony PlayStation – and, to be honest, it couldn’t be any further removed from Elden Ring in terms of presentation…

I’ve played a lot of RPGs in my time, and I would go so far as to say that it’s my favourite genre of video game, but King’s Field came as a bit of a shock to me. Yes, King’s Field was an early 3D RPG on the PlayStation, releasing the same year as the PS1 was launched, but it post-dates Ultima Underworld by two years and is archaic in comparison.

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Factor 5, JVC, LucasArts, Super Nintendo

Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures, Super Nintendo

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Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures is a run-and-gun platform/action game developed by Factor 5 (the German team who made Super Turrican, among others), with the supervision of LucasArts, and published by JVC in 1994.

The game features sequences based on the first three Indiana Jones films; the first being Raiders of the Lost Ark obviously; the second being Temple of Doom (my favourite), and the third being The Last Crusade.

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Midway Games, Midway Studios San Diego, Nintendo 64

Doom 64, Nintendo 64

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Developed by Midway Studios San Diego and published by Midway Games in 1997, Doom 64 is a sequel to Doom II that contains a single-player campaign, but no multiplayer.

In total there are 28 campaign levels and four secret levels. Monster and weapon graphics have been redesigned and are unique to Doom 64.

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GameCube, Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, GameCube

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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii in 2006 and is an unusual, beautifully-produced game with stunning visuals and evocative gameplay. It was the final first-party release from Nintendo for the GameCube.

Twilight Princess features involving, varied, and ever-evolving gameplay, with a more mature-looking Link in the title role (possibly in response to criticism of its predecessor, 2002’s The Wind Waker, due to its cartoony, cel-shaded graphics). The story involves Link trying to stop Hyrule from being engulfed by a corrupt parallel dimension called The Twilight Realm.

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Megadrive/Genesis, Virgin Games

Cool Spot, Megadrive/Genesis

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Cool Spot is a cartoony platform game featuring the brand mascot* for the soft drink 7 Up. It was programmed by David Perry and first published by Virgin Games for the Sega Megadrive/Genesis in 1993.

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Hudson Soft, NES/Famicom, Now Production

Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu, NES

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The Famicom/NES version of Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu was developed by Now Production (who made Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti and Splatterhouse 3, among others) and was published by Hudson Soft in 1990. It’s a side-scrolling beat ’em up with platforming elements based around the famous movie actor Jackie Chan.

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Activision, Atari 2600

Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Atari 2600

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Activision‘s 1984 sequel to Pitfall! – Pitfall II: Lost Caverns – was again designed and programmed by David Crane. This time, though, the cartridge had a custom display processor chip inside, which allowed for improved visuals and continuous four channel music (the Atari 2600 is normally only capable of two channel sound).

Gameplay is similar to Pitfall!, although in this follow-up the world you can explore is much bigger than previously and is made up of eight screens in width, by 27 screens in height, making 216 screens in total. When you walk from one screen to another the new screen scrolls smoothly into view.

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Amiga CD32, Psygnosis

Microcosm, Amiga CD32

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Microcosm was much-hyped upon release in 1993, but in essence is a very limited ‘rail shooter’ set inside a human body – with pre-rendered video sequences used to depict the third-person viewpoint.

The game was originally developed by Psygnosis for the FM Towns, with some investment from Fujitsu, and was later ported to MS-DOS, the Sega Mega-CD, the 3DO, and the Amiga CD32.

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Atari, Atari 7800

Dark Chambers, Atari 7800

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Dark Chambers is a one or two-player maze/action game that was directly influenced by Dandy, in that it was originally written by John Howard Palevich – the creator Dandy – to further expand (or in this case: simplify) the concept of a multiplayer fantasy action game.

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Atari Games, Sega Master System, Tengen, US Gold

Gauntlet, Sega Master System

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The Sega Master System conversion of Atari‘s classic arcade game Gauntlet is surprisingly good. For starters: it’s got the fastest fire rate of any of the home versions available, and it plays with a high intensity. This does, however, make the game especially challenging because the health of your heroes does tend to go down rather quickly.

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