Tag Archives: hidden gem

Konami, M2, Wii

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Nintendo Wii

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It’s a remake of Castlevania: The Adventure – originally released for the black and white Game Boy – except this time it’s been changed to look and play like something of a cross between an X68000 and a Super Nintendo Castlevania game. It could also be mistaken for a Castlevania arcade game. But it isn’t any of those.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth is a WiiWare game for the Nintendo Wii. It was released only through the WiiWare service for a number of years. At the time of writing, I don’t think it’s currently available to buy and play anywhere legally, which is a pity because it’s superb.

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Amiga, Random Access, Sales Curve Interactive

Rod Land, Amiga

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The Amiga conversion of Rod Land is an enhanced port of the Jaleco arcade game from 1990. It features extra levels, extra animation, hidden features and bonuses, and glitch fixes. The conversion was done by Random Access and was published by Storm (a sub-label of The Sales Curve) in 1991.

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Genki, Hot-B, Megadrive/Genesis, Sage's Creation

Devilish: The Next Possession, Megadrive/Genesis

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Devilish: The Next Possession (known in Japan as Bad Omen) is the Megadrive/Genesis sequel to the 1991 Game Gear game, Devilish. It was developed by Genki and first released in 1992.

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Game Gear, Genki, Opera House, Sage's Creation, Sega, Tec Toy

Devilish, Game Gear

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Developed by Opera House and published by Genki in Japan, Sage’s Creation in North America, Sega in Europe, and Tec Toy in Brazil in 1991, Devilish is an excellent Breakout/Arkanoid variant where the aim is to bounce a ball to the end of a scrolling level within a strict time limit.

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Angel, Jaleco, Natsume, NES/Famicom

Shatterhand, NES/Famicom

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Shatterhand is a scrolling action game in which you play a young police officer – called Steve Hermann – who has lost his arms and has had them replaced with enhanced, cybernetic limbs, and is in pursuit of a group of military renegades called “Metal Command“.

Shatterhand was developed by Natsume and originally published for the Nintendo Famicom by Angel under the title of “Tokkyū Shirei Soruburein” in 1991. That version of the game is based on the Japanese TV series “Super Rescue Solbrain“. The US and European versions, published by Jaleco, removed the licensed elements, changed the backstory, and re-titled the game as “Shatterhand” for Western audiences. One level was also completely changed – from a carnival level in the Japanese version, to a submarine level in the American version. The gameplay in both versions is identical, though.

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Megadrive/Genesis, Pacific SoftScape, Time Warner Interactive

Generations Lost, Megadrive/Genesis

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Generations Lost is a scrolling platform action game for the Sega Megadrive/Genesis, developed by Pacific SoftScape and published by Time Warner Interactive in 1994. And it really is rather good, in spite of it not reviewing so well when it was first released.

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Extended Play Productions, Megadrive/Genesis, Sega

Chakan: The Forever Man, Megadrive/ Genesis

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Developed by Extended Play Productions and published by Sega in 1992, Chakan: The Forever Man is based on the comic of the same name by Robert A. Kraus and features a protagonist, called Chakan, who is so confident of his swordsmanship that he declares that even ‘Death’ cannot beat him. Death appears and challenges Chakan – if Chaken can defeat him, he will be granted eternal life. However, if Death wins then Chakan will become Death’s eternal servant.

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Arcade, Jaleco

Rod Land, Arcade

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Rod Land is a one or simultaneous two-player platform game created by Jaleco and first distributed into arcades in 1990. In it you control one of two fairies – Tam or Rit – each armed with a magic wand (or a ‘rod’, as the game’s title implies) which can immobilise monsters that chase you on each stage. The aim of the game is to rescue your ‘mom’ (and later, your dad) who has been kidnapped and taken to the top of a large tower.

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Neverland, Super Nintendo, Taito

Energy Breaker, Super Nintendo

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Energy Breaker is an isometric, tactical, turn-based RPG, developed by Neverland and published exclusively for the Super Nintendo by Taito in 1996. It was only ever released in Japan but does have an English fan translation patch available for it, which makes it playable to Western audiences.

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HAL Laboratory, Square, Super Nintendo

Alcahest, Super Nintendo

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Alcahest is a scrolling, overhead action game – with RPG elements – that was developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Squaresoft in 1993. It was only ever released in Japan, but a fan-made, English translation patch is available to make it fully playable to Western audiences. Which is what I’m showing here.

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