Thankfully this is an adaption of Adventure Island II on the NES/Famicom, rather than a port of the original Adventure Island. I say “Thankfully” because the original Adventure Island was nothing more than a port of the Sega‘s 1986 arcade game, Wonder Boy, and Adventure Island II on the NES/Famicom was a step towards something a bit more substantial. Which is what we’re getting here.
Tag Archives: Cult Game
Adventure Island II, NES/Famicom
Adventure Island II is the sequel to Adventure Island, although whereas the first Adventure Island was an adaptation of the Wonder Boy arcade game, this second title in the series is an original game in its own right and features a number of improvements over the first Adventure Island. Adventure Island II was developed by Now Production and first published by Hudson Soft in 1991.
Adventure Island, NES/Famicom
Hudson Soft‘s Adventure Island on the NES/Famicom is an adaptation of Sega‘s Wonder Boy arcade game, although subsequent Adventure Island games were original titles and the series went on to become a relatively popular ‘spin-off’ in its own right. Adventure Island was initially released in Japan in 1986, then in North America 1988, and finally in Europe in 1992.
Kaboom!, Atari 2600
Another simple Atari 2600 game with compelling gameplay: Kaboom! is a 1981 Activision game where you must catch falling bombs (dropped by what looks like a burglar, but we’ll call him The Mad Bomber) onto a set of bats, without allowing any bombs to hit the ground below you.
Dr. Franken II, Game Boy
Dr. Franken II is the sequel to the Game Boy platform game, Dr. Franken, and is once again a satirical take on Mary Shelley‘s classic horror story, Frankenstein. It was developed by Motivetime and published by Elite Systems in 1993 (some sources online say “1997”, but that doesn’t seem to be right; it doesn’t make sense that a sequel would be released five years after the original game, on a time-limited handheld console).
Forgotten Worlds, Arcade
Forgotten Worlds is a classic Capcom arcade shooter from 1988, with simultaneous two-player coop, a rotational aiming system, and intense bullet hell action set across a landscape of the desolate Earth in the 29th Century.
Maniac Mansion, NES/Famicom
The NES/Famicom version of Maniac Mansion was developed and published by Jaleco in 1990 and is still worth playing today. It’s a fine port of a great game and translates well enough to Nintendo‘s machine that it arguably plays even better than the C64 original (although many will cry “Sacrilege!” to that).
The Oregon Trail, Apple II
The Oregon Trail is a classic Apple II strategy/adventure game where you play as settlers travelling in a covered wagon on The Oregon Trail in 1848. As you might imagine, the trail is hostile and survival on it is brutal, so you have to prepare for your trip in advance by buying food, clothes, ammunition, spare parts, and oxen to pull your wagon.
Repton 3, Archimedes
The Acorn Archimedes version of Repton 3 is an excellent port of the 8-bit BBC Micro original, with enhanced graphics, responsive controls and a raft of extra levels not seen in the original. From what I can tell it was the only part of the Repton series that was ported to the Archimedes, which is fine because it’s probably the best game in the series.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Super Nintendo
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is a Role-Playing Game aimed at beginners and was the first Final Fantasy game released in English-speaking territories, coming out on the Super Nintendo through Square in 1992. It was actually released in North America first, then in Japan and Europe the following year. The game was released in Europe as “Mystic Quest Legend” which hints at its similarity to the classic Final Fantasy Legend series on the Game Boy.
The King of Grabs 