Tag Archives: console

Mr. Gimmick, NES/Famicom

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.

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Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Megadrive/Genesis

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.

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Phantasy Star, Sega Master System

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.

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Super Aleste, Super Nintendo

The ‘daddy’ of Super NES shooters (in my opinion), Compile’s 1992 masterpiece Super Aleste made waves on consoles, and around the world.

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Tempest 2000, Atari Jaguar

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.

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Zool 2, Atari Jaguar

Gremlin Graphics‘ lollipop-endorsing, ninja hero Zool was in our faces all throughout the early ’90s. He was supposed to be a kind of ‘anti-hero alien ninja’ to mirror the ‘coolness’ of Sega‘s Sonic the Hedgehog, but only made relatively minor inroads into gaming history with two games that originated on the Amiga then were later ported to a variety of different platforms. Zool 2 was converted to the Jaguar by Imagitech Design and was released in North America and Europe in 1994, and later in Japan, in 1995.

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Harmful Park, PlayStation

Released exclusively in Japan by Sky Think Systems in February 1997, Harmful Park is an amazing side-scrolling shooter with a bizarre Japanese flavour.

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Super Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past on the Super Nintendo was a watershed moment in gaming history back in 1991.

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