Tag Archives: Japanese

Caliber .50, Arcade

Caliber .50 is an obscure arcade shooter from SETA Corporation, first released in 1989.

It can be played single or simultaneous two-player and is arguably better than the legendary Ikari Warriors. Caliber .50 is like Commando on steroids…

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Aleste, MSX

I’m not a hundred percent sure if the MSX2 version of Aleste was released before the Sega Master System version or not. There are conflicting reports.

What is almost certainly true, though, is that they were both developed side-by-side in 1987 and released in Japan in 1988.

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Aleste, Sega Master System

Japanese developer Compile – who made Aleste – has a history of producing classic shoot ’em ups. This one was released for the Sega Master System in 1988.

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Zone of the Enders, PlayStation 2

Zone of the Enders is a 3D combat game based on the concept of ‘Mecha’ (big, Japanese robots). It was published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001.

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Kirby’s Adventure, NES

Kirby’s Adventure is the second game in the Kirby series (after Kirby’s Dream Land on the Game Boy), and – boy – doesn’t it look good in colour?

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Kirby’s Dream Land, Game Boy

Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy is the first game ever released in the long-running Kirby series. It was developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo themselves in 1992.

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Deathsmiles, Arcade

Deathsmiles is an infamous (and much-loved) 2007 shooter from Cave – a Japanese company known for its relatively innovative and leftfield output. Cave shooters are ‘Bullet Hell’ in overdrive…

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Parasite Eve, PlayStation

Parasite Eve is a single-player, horror-themed action/adventure game developed and published by Square in 1998. The game is actually the sequel to the novel Parasite Eve, written by Hideaki Sena.

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Survival Kids, Game Boy Color

Survival Kids (aka Stranded Kids in Europe), was released by Konami on the Game Boy Color in 1999.

It is a fantastic little survival sim, starring kids who are trapped on a desert island after a shipwreck out at sea. You can choose to play as either a boy or a girl.

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Breath of Fire II, Super Nintendo

Breath of Fire II is a direct sequel to Breath of Fire, first released in Japan in 1994.

Set 500 years after the events of Breath of Fire, you again assume the role of a young boy called Ryu, this time a descendant of the hero of the first game. You initially begin a quest to clear the name of one of your friends, and this snowballs into something epic.

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