This brilliant single and multi-player overhead shooter by LucasArts is a parody of every single horror and sci-fi film you’ve ever seen.
Chainsaws, zombies, UFOs, mummies, werewolves, demonic babies, spiders, shopping malls – you name it, the game will throw it at you during at least one of its 48 different stages.
The “EO” part of Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO means: “Easy Operation”. Basically, this is the same game as the classic arcade beat ’em up of 2001, but with controls better suited to a gamepad. So, rather than hitting buttons to perform special attacks, you can now move the right analogue stick in a certain direction to activate them instead.
This 1994 cult classic Super Nintendo level-grinder was originally titled “Mother 2” in its native Japan – later changed in English-speaking territories to EarthBound.
This was due to the fact that no one outside of Japan had seen the first Mother (released in 1989 on the NES) and the bigwigs at Nintendo of America worried that it might confuse people.
This classic NES game was initially released in Japan in 1989 under the title of Mother.
Argonaut Software‘s 1992 release (through Jaleco) – King Arthur’s World – is an interesting and challenging real time action game with strategic overtones.
Known as Gimmick! in Japan and Mr. Gimmick everywhere else, this 1992 release was an attempt by Sunsoft to push the graphical powers of the Nintendo Entertainment System further than they’d ever been pushed before (in order to compete with the Super Nintendo, which was relatively new on the market).
In order to do this, Sunsoft used all kinds of clever programming techniques using graphical tilesets and colours, and the end result is very striking. But it wasn’t enough to compete with the newer consoles of the time and Mr. Gimmick sank without a trace, into relative obscurity.
For my money: THE best game on the Sega Megadrive/Genesis.
Sega‘s very own level-grinding RPG franchise comes to full fruition in this fourth instalment of the Phantasy Star series, first released in 1993.
Continue reading Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Megadrive/Genesis
For me: THE stand-out title on the Sega Master System.
Phantasy Star is a solid – if rather basic – level-grinding RPG/adventure, and it went on to spawn a whole series of other games afterwards.
The ‘daddy’ of Super NES shooters (in my opinion), Compile’s 1992 masterpiece Super Aleste made waves on consoles, and around the world.
Jeff Minter’s 1994 remix of the classic arcade game Tempest is quite exciting on the Atari Jaguar. It features four different play modes, including Traditional, Plus, 2000, and Duel.
The King of Grabs 