Doug Smith‘s famous platform game, Lode Runner, was first released on the Apple II in 1983.
Tag Archives: Cult Game
The Legend of Zelda, NES
1986 saw the release of the original The Legend of Zelda on the NES, although it wasn’t on cartridge – it was on floppy disk. Specifically: for the Nintendo Famicom Disk System (FDS).
A cartridge version, with battery backup-up saves, was released in North America in 1987.
Shadow Warrior, PC
The original Shadow Warrior was released for PC MS-DOS by GT Interactive in 1997.
Shadow Warrior is a fast, high fun factor, oriental comedy First-Person Shooter. It was created by 3D Realms and used the Duke Nukem ‘Build’ Engine to display the world.
Solar Jetman, NES
Or, to give the game its full title: Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warship.
Solar Jetman is a really good gravity game in the style of Thrust or Exile, and also a spiritual sequel to the classic Ultimate games Jet Pac and Lunar Jetman – it starring the titular ‘Jetman’ of those titles.
Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition, PlayStation
Bust-A-Move 2 is the console name for the famous arcade game Puzzle Bobble 2. Thus: the “Arcade Edition” subtitle. I’ve no idea why they changed it – it just makes things confusing.
Puzzle Bobble 2 is a brilliant game though. It was initially released into arcades by Taito in 1995 and this arcade conversion came a year later via Acclaim in 1996.
Dragon Warrior, NES
Developed by Chunsoft and released for the Famicom by Enix in 1986, Dragon Quest was a landmark moment in video game history.
Dragon Warrior is the American NES release of Dragon Quest, translated into English and tweaked here and there (I say “tweaked here and there” but the US version had battery back-up saves and the Japanese version used password saves, so there was a big difference there), and released by Nintendo in 1989. These grabs are from the later North American English language release.
Brave Fencer Musashi, PlayStation
Square‘s 1998 PlayStation release, Brave Fencer Musashi, is an entertaining single-player action/RPG, with real-time sword combat and a 3D environment and characters.
Nightshade, NES
NOT the infamous 1985 Ultimate game, but an obscure action/adventure classic from Aussie developer Beam Software, first released on the NES in 1992.
Giants: Citizen Kabuto, PC
This obscure 2000 release from Planet Moon Studios and Interplay pretty much sank without a trace on first release – in spite of being a great game. Thankfully, Giants: Citizen Kabuto has been given a new lease of life, thanks to GOG.com (and other outlets) giving it a re-release, and it seems to have found a new audience. Looking at the reviews on GOG.com in particular it seems that this game is receiving a lot of love.
Excitebike, NES
Nintendo‘s fun motocross racing game on the NES, Excitebike, was designed by legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Excitebike was a launch title for both the Japanese and American release of the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console, in 1984 and 1985 respectively.