Tag Archives: fantasy

Todd’s Adventures in Slime World, Megadrive/Genesis

Todd’s Adventures in Slime World is a game developed by Epyx and first released on the Atari Lynx in 1990.

This Megadrive/Genesis version came later – in 1991 – and in my mind is better than the original, because you can see more of the play area in this version (because the graphics are higher resolution), and there’s also simultaneous split-screen play.

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Todd’s Adventures in Slime World, Atari Lynx

The original Atari Lynx version of Todd’s Adventures in Slime World, developed by Epyx and released by Atari in 1990.

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Cave Noire, Game Boy

Konami‘s Cave Noire is a smart little handheld ‘Roguelike’ dungeon crawler for the Nintendo Game Boy that was first released in Japan in 1991. Cave Noire did not receive a release outside of its native country, which is a pity because it’s an excellent game.

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Final Fantasy Legend II, Game Boy

This 1991 sequel to the classic Squaresoft RPG Final Fantasy Legend is considered by many to be even better than the first game. And I would have to concur with that view.

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Final Fantasy Legend, Game Boy

Final Fantasy Legend on the Nintendo Game Boy is a game that particularly resonates with me because I remember buying it back in 1989 and playing it to death over the space of six months. Everywhere I went at the time I had my Game Boy, battery pack, and Final Fantasy Legend cartridge, and I would play it whenever I had the time. And when I hear the iconic music playing it takes me back like a time machine…

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Final Fantasy Adventure, Game Boy

The first game in the Seiken Densetsu (aka “Mana“) series was released on the black and white, handheld Nintendo Game Boy in June 1991.

It’s a spin-off from the famous Final Fantasy series, also by Square. In Japan the original title was Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden (translating as “Holy Sword Legend: Final Fantasy Side Story”). In the West it was released under the title Final Fantasy Adventure.

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Landstalker, Megadrive/Genesis

Released in its native Japan in 1992, and everywhere else in 1993, Landstalker is a memorable real-time action adventure in a well-defined fantasy world. The Megadrive‘s answer to Zelda, in some respects.

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Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 5]

Seiken Densetsu 3 was released by Squaresoft in 1995 and an English fan translation came out in 2000. Only five years after the game’s original release there was a fan translation… That’s unheard of. And there are various translations available now, including German and French.

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Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 4]

I absolutely love the graphical style of Squaresoft‘s Seiken Densetsu 3. It’s a masterwork of pixel graphics artistry. Everything in it, from the characters, to the buildings, to the items, and to the magic spell effects are all incredibly well presented and thought-out. These are definitely among the most iconic 2D RPG graphics ever made. And the people who made them deserve a round of applause from the rest of the gaming world for creating them. 🙂

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Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 3]

One mistake I made when I first played Seiken Densetsu 3 was: I didn’t know where the magic spells were. This is probably a common mistake among first time players.

You have to press ‘down’ from the item menu ring to find and use your magic spells, and I probably played the first twenty levels or so without using my character magic at all. If you’re going to give this great game a try for the first time, don’t make the same mistake that I did. Press down to use your magic (and spirits) when the item ring is visible. Pressing up and down cycles through them. The same system as is used in shops for buying and selling. It does take some getting used to although you can quickly switch characters using the L and R buttons, which is useful in shops and essential in combat.

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