Tag Archives: Level-Grinder

Electronic Arts, Game Boy Color, Griptonite Games

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Game Boy Color

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Before you skip the page, just a second while I quantify something… This game – and its successor, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – are both really good games… Even though they are based on something that I don’t care about. Harry Potter. I haven’t read the books (and I do like to read), and I haven’t seen the films (and I love films). Harry Potter just doesn’t interest me… But I do like both of these Game Boy Color Harry Potter games. They are fun RPG/level-grinders, with turn-based combat and Zelda-like adventure sections. They have good interfaces and lots of interesting items and spells. They are different.

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Famicom Disk System, NES/Famicom, Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda, NES

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1986 saw the release of the original The Legend of Zelda on the NES, although it wasn’t on cartridge – it was on floppy disk. Specifically: for the Nintendo Famicom Disk System (FDS).

A cartridge version, with battery backup-up saves, was released in North America in 1987.

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Chunsoft, Enix, NES/Famicom

Dragon Warrior, NES

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Developed by Chunsoft and released for the Famicom by Enix in 1986, Dragon Quest was a landmark moment in video game history.

Dragon Warrior is the American NES release of Dragon Quest, translated into English and tweaked here and there (I say “tweaked here and there” but the US version had battery back-up saves and the Japanese version used password saves, so there was a big difference there), and released by Nintendo in 1989. These grabs are from the later North American English language release.

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Neverland, Super Nintendo, Taito

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, Super Nintendo

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I was going to add a Final Fantasy game to our Super Nintendo special this week, but – you know what? – Final Fantasy on the SNES is messy, because of all the US and Japanese title discrepancies, so… Instead I’m going to pick this: probably my favourite turn-based level-grinder on the Super Nintendo – Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals.

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Almanic, Enix, Super Nintendo

E.V.O.: Search for Eden, Super Nintendo

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E.V.O.: Search for Eden was a wonderfully original Role-Playing Game back in 1992, when it was first released, and is still quite original now, nearly three decades later.

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FTL, JVC, Software Heaven, Super Nintendo

Dungeon Master, Super Nintendo

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This is a very effective Japanese conversion of the great US, 16-bit classic, Dungeon Master, by FTL and Software Heaven.

The conversion was handled by JVC Interactive and was first released in Japan in 1992, before being translated and released in North America and Europe later.

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Brownie Brown, Game Boy Advance, HAL Laboratory, Nintendo

Mother 3, Game Boy Advance

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The third and final game in the Mother series, Mother 3, was released in Japan only in 2006 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

Nintendo published the game, with development by Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory – directed by Nobuyuki Inhoue and written by series creator Shigesato Itoi.

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Ape, HAL Laboratory, Nintendo, Super Nintendo

EarthBound, Super Nintendo

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This 1994 cult classic Super Nintendo level-grinder was originally titled “Mother 2” in its native Japan – later changed in English-speaking territories to EarthBound.

This was due to the fact that no one outside of Japan had seen the first Mother (released in 1989 on the NES) and the bigwigs at Nintendo of America worried that it might confuse people.

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Ape, HAL Laboratory, NES/Famicom

EarthBound Zero, NES

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This classic NES game was initially released in Japan in 1989 under the title of Mother.

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Climax Entertainment, Megadrive/Genesis, Sega

Shining In The Darkness, Megadrive/Genesis

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When I first played Shining In The Darkness – a 1991 party-based Role-Playing Game for the Sega Megadrive/Genesis, developed by Climax Entertainment and published by Sega – I was ready to dismiss it, because of the unattractive, ‘cartoony’ graphics, the clunky interface, and the generic script. But after some determined play – admittedly: in an emulator, and using quicksaves – it became apparent that this was no ‘throwaway’ level-grinder. It was in fact something quite special…

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