Tag Archives: Japanese

Stop The Express, ZX Spectrum

Stop The Express is an early ZX Spectrum game – created by Japanese developer Hudson Soft and first released in 1983 – and is a simple action game where the aim is to traverse the train carriages, from right to left, in order to reach the engine and to stop the out-of-control train.

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Star Fox, Super Nintendo

I’m going to use the Japanese and North American name for this game – Star Fox – rather than the European name (Star Wing, which was chosen because the name “Star Fox” was apparently too similar to a German company called “StarVox”!).

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Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, Game Boy Color

This colour remake of Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge was released as part of the Konami GB Collection Vol. 4 compilation in 2000.

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Twinkle Star Sprites, Neo Geo

SNK‘s Twinkle Star Sprites was released for the Neo Geo in 1996 and is an interesting mix of vertically-scrolling shoot ’em up and head-to-head puzzle game. Yes, I know that sounds weird, and this game IS weird, but weird in all the right ways…

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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Game Boy Color

Which came first? Oracle of Seasons or Oracle of Ages? The answer: neither. They were both released at exactly the same time (February 2001), and both games are companion pieces to each other.

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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Game Boy Color

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages was released as a twin title with The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons for the Game Boy Color in 2001.

Both games were developed simultaneously by Flagship (a division of Capcom) and both games are essentially companion pieces that can be played separately, or linked, so that what you do in one affects what happens in the other.

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The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color has a brilliant remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. It was first released in 1998 and features an added colour-themed dungeon not seen in the original monochrome release.

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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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Tetris, Game Boy

It would be remiss of me to celebrate the Nintendo Game Boy and not mention Tetris.

Tetris was the ‘pack-in’ game with the original black and white Game Boy, and probably helped sell a few million units in itself.

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