Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is a brilliant Final Fantasy-style, level-grinding RPG, initially released by Namco on the Nintendo GameCube in 2003.
Continue reading Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, GameCube
Tag Archives: Japanese
Kururin Squash!, GameCube
I only discovered this marvellous game recently, on the back of posting screenshots of its predecessor on here. But I’m extremely glad I did, because Kururin Squash! is a fantastic update of the same game mechanics that made Kuru Kuru Kururin so compelling to play: guiding a spinning stick around a series of mad, twisting mazes.
Kururin Paradise, Game Boy Advance
Fantastic 2002, Japan-only sequel to Kuru Kuru Kururin, developed by Eighting and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, GameCube
Nintendo‘s 2002 release of their tenth Legend of Zelda game (if you count Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages as two games, which I do) was a real leap, in terms of graphical presentation.
Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, GameCube
Kuru Kuru Kururin, Game Boy Advance
Kuru Kuru Kururin is a weirdly-named but wonderful (and original) Game Boy Advance game, developed by Eighting and first published by Nintendo in 2001.
The idea is that you have to control a spinning stick, and take it around a series of increasingly twisting and torturous courses, without touching the sides, or hitting other hazards. And do it against a time limit. It’s one of those games with a simple premise, but offers quite a tough and interesting challenge.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, PlayStation
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete is a superb party-based, level-grinding RPG, first released on the Sega Saturn in 1996 (as Lunar: The Silver Star), and brilliantly remade for the Sony PlayStation in 1998.
Continue reading Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, PlayStation
Drill Dozer, Game Boy Advance
Drill Dozer is a fun, side-scrolling “drill ’em up” where you take control of a small tank with a drill on the front, which allows you to dig your way through the landscape and bump off your enemies. You can upgrade the drill as you play, which then requires the learning of new control techniques – using a kind of gear type system. It’s all quite clever and original.
Parasol Stars, Amiga
Parasol Stars is a wonderful sequel to Taito‘s classic Rainbow Islands, although it was never released in arcades.
The game was initially developed exclusively for the NEC PC Engine in 1991, and later released on other formats by Ocean Software. The brilliant Amiga version was released in 1992 and remains a firm favourite among Bubble Bobble series fans.
Penguin Wars 2, MSX
Sequel to the fun arcade game made by UPL and published by ASCII in 1985. This second game was released by ASCII on the MSX in 1988 and is an excellent continuation of the theme, which is similar to air hockey, but with animals playing against each other.
PaRappa the Rapper 2, PlayStation 2
Ingenious rhythm game sequel starring everyone’s favourite rapping dog.
The King of Grabs 