Tag Archives: Cult Game

Deus Ex Machina, ZX Spectrum

This unique and interesting game was developed and first published by Automata UK on the ZX Spectrum in 1984.

Deus Ex Machina was the first video game to feature a fully synchronised soundtrack that featured celebrity narration and music. The cast includes Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Donna Bailey, Frankie Howerd, E.P. Thompson, and Mel Croucher – the latter being the author of the game. The soundtrack was supplied on cassette, which was played while the game ran.

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Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Super Nintendo

Konami‘s classic Super Nintendo platform game, Legend of the Mystical Ninja (1991), is about as much fun you can have on this particular system – it is just so chock full of variety and fun that it is undeniably one of the best games on the SNES.

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Demon’s Crest, Super Nintendo

What is interesting about Demon’s Crest – a 1994 Super Nintendo release from Capcom – is that it is a spin-off from the Ghosts ‘N Goblins series.

Eagle-eyed gamers will recognise the red-skinned, demonic lead character – called Firebrand – as an enemy from the original Ghosts ‘N Goblins arcade game. In fact: Demon’s Crest is actually the third game featuring Firebrand, after Gargoyle’s Quest (Game Boy), and Gargoyle’s Quest II (NES).

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Boulder Dash, Arcade

This 1990 arcade version of First Star‘s classic Boulder Dash dispenses with Rockford as we know (knew) him, and replaces him with a miner’s hat-wearing boy, although this doesn’t affect the game negatively.

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Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom, Arcade

Sega‘s Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom was first released into arcades in 1982, and – to play it now – you’d wonder what all the fuss was about, but this game made waves when it was first released.

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Ultimate Race Pro, PC

It might seem like an innocuous title (and a bit of a Daytona clone), but Kalisto Entertainment and MicroProse‘s Ultimate Race Pro was a great, early pioneer of multiplayer online racing games.

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Axelay, Super Nintendo

Konami‘s Axelay is considered a cult classic among shoot ’em up fans.

First released on the Super Nintendo in 1992, Axelay cleverly mixes side-scrolling and vertically-scrolling blasting action, and also makes excellent use of the Super Nintendo‘s infamous ‘Mode 7’ scaling technique, to create a weird ‘cylindrical’ rolling effect on some of the levels.

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