Developed by Namco and published – in Japan only – by NEC Avenue in 1989, Wonder Momo is a conversion of a weird Japanese arcade game featuring a female lead character who must fight off attackers during a theatre stage play. And, if that sounds bizarre, then – well – that’s because it is! Unlike the arcade original, the PC Engine version of Wonder Momo has been fan-translated into English and Spanish, so is more accessible to Western audiences.
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Wonder Momo, Arcade
I first encountered Namco‘s Wonder Momo on the PC Engine, because it had received a fan translation, and I was curious to see what the game was about. I then discovered that it was a conversion of a 1987 arcade game, featuring a young girl called Momo, who can turn into a ‘superhero’ by building up her “Wonder Meter“.
This bizarre arcade game was only ever released in Japan, but has subsequently built up a cult following around the world, and has also inspired manga/anime, and resulted in a sequel that was released in 2014.
Express Raider, Arcade
In Data East‘s 1986 Wild West-themed scrolling action game – Express Raider (aka “Western Express” in Japan) – you’re not trying to be the good guy; you’re actually the bad guy, trying to hold up a series of trains and steal as much gold and money as possible.
Street Fighter II, Super Game Boy
When the 1995 Game Boy Street Fighter II cartridge is plugged into a Super Game Boy, a number of enhancements are featured.
Street Fighter II, Game Boy
Developed by a company called “Sun L” (who are uncredited in the game itself), and published by Capcom in Japan, and Nintendo in the West, Street Fighter II on the Game Boy is a cut-down, monochrome version of the famous Street Fighter II arcade game. It was initially released in 1995.
Splatterhouse, FM Towns
The FM Towns version of the controversial Namco arcade game, Splatterhouse, was developed and published by Ving – in Japan only – in 1992. It doesn’t suffer from any of the censorship, that some versions of the game do, and is a completely uncut and almost perfect port of the arcade original.
Battletoads, Arcade
Battletoads is a humorous side-scrolling beat ’em up, developed by Rare Coin Games and distributed into arcades by Electronic Arts in 1994. It satirises the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters, turning them into muscular toads, called Zitz, Rash and Pimple.
Battletoads, NES/Famicom
Battletoads is a scrolling action game, developed by Rare and published by Tradewest in 1991. It satirises (and takes advantage of the popularity of) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and features a group of cartoon toads, called Zitz, Rash and Pimple.
Two of the toads – Zitz and Rash – are on a mission to rescue their third member, Pimple, and Princess Angelica, both of whom have been kidnapped by the evil Dark Queen and taken to her planet. The toads fly to the planet in their spaceship and lower themselves down to the surface using their ‘Turbo Ropes’. From there they begin the fight to free their friends.
Bruce Lee: Return of Fury, Commodore 64
Released in 2019 by Megastyle, Bruce Lee: Return of Fury is another great homebrew fan tribute sequel to Ron J. Fortier and Kelly Day‘s classic action platformer, Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee II, Commodore 64
I’ve already covered the PC version of Bruno R. Marcos‘ marvellous homebrew sequel, Bruce Lee II, on this site, but unfortunately the game download has been unavailable for some time. I was surprised and delighted, therefore, to discover that Bruce Lee II had been ported to the Commodore 64 by Jonas Hulten, and remains available to download and play to this day (at the time of writing, at least).
The King of Grabs 