Tag Archives: Obscure

ASCII Corporation, Lenar, Super Nintendo

Gunple: Gunman’s Proof, Super Nintendo

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Gunple: Gunman’s Proof was developed by Lenar and published by ASCII Corporation in 1997. It was one of the last games to be released for the SNES and was only ever released in Japan. An English fan translation does exist, though, which means that non Japanese speakers can enjoy this wonderful game.

In essence, Gunple could be described as ‘Zelda with guns’ or a ‘Wild West Zelda‘, because – graphically – the game does have a lot of similarities to Nintendo‘s classic A Link To the Past. In fact: some of the background graphics, in my opinion, appear to have been lifted from the aforementioned Zelda game, which in reality is no bad thing.

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Arcade, TAD Corporation

Toki, Arcade

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Toki is a relatively obscure platform-based arcade game, by Japanese developer TAD Corporation, which was first released in 1989. And it is as bloody hard as nails!

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Arcade, Taito

Fighting Hawk, Arcade

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A relatively obscure Taito arcade game from 1989*, Fighting Hawk is a vertically-scrolling bullet hell shooter where you fly an A-10 ‘Tankbuster’ up the screen, fighting its way through waves of enemies and bosses.

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Thor Computer Software, ZX Spectrum

The House Jack Built, ZX Spectrum

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The House Jack Built is the sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk. It was released the same year as Jack and the Beanstalk – in 1984 – and is a marked improvement on its predecessor.

It was again created by Chris Kerry, helped by his brother, Steve, and published by Thor Computer Software, based in Liverpool.

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Megadrive/Genesis, Psygnosis, Raising Hell Software

Wiz ‘N’ Liz, Megadrive/Genesis

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Wiz ‘N’ Liz was developed by Raising Hell Software for the Amiga and Sega Megadrive only and was first published by Psygnosis in 1993. It is a side-scrolling collecting game with cute graphics and jolly music and can be played one or two-player.

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Arcade, Atari, Atari Games

Skull & Crossbones, Arcade

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I hadn’t seen this 1989 arcade game from Atari Games before, until I played it recently, and even then I found it on the Commodore 64 first, then realised that it was an arcade conversion.

Skull & Crossbones has all the ingredients of a classic arcade action game, but – having played it extensively now – I can see why it failed…

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Arcade, Kee Games

Sprint 2, Arcade

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The Sprint series began in 1976 with Sprint 1 and Sprint 2 – not, as you may think, a first game and a sequel, but the “1” and “2” denotes the number of players who can play the game.

Sprint 1 had a single steering wheel, and Sprint 2 had a pair of steering wheels, and in each game players control their vehicles through a variety of overhead, black and white race tracks.

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Arcade, Data East

Psycho-Nics Oscar, Arcade

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This obscure 1987 arcade game from Data East was a big influence on many games that came after it, in particular Manfred Trenz‘s Turrican series. It is obviously itself influenced by Nintendo‘s 1986 game, Metroid.

It also displays some similarities to Karnov, another Data East arcade game released the same year.

And, while you may have never heard of this game, it’s safe to say that it’s a bit of a ‘hidden gem’ in terms of old arcade games still worth playing today.

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Arcade, Sega

SegaSonic the Hedgehog, Arcade

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SegaSonic the Hedgehog is an arcade game from 1993 starring Sega‘s famous blue mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. It features beautiful isometric graphics and trackball-based multiplayer gameplay.

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