Based on the 1988 film of the same name, Willow is a platform action game developed by Capcom and distributed into arcades in 1989. The intro says: “A magnificent fantasy filled with love, friendship and adventure!“, but in reality the game is a violent hack-and-slash ’em up, and is some distance from “love, friendship and adventure”…
Tag Archives: Obscure
The Adventure of Little Ralph, PlayStation
The Adventure of Little Ralph (aka “Chippoke Ralph no Daibōken“) is an obscure 2D action game, made exclusively for the PlayStation, developed by New Corporation and released in Japan only in 1999. The game has a serious reputation among PS1 fans ‘in the know’ as being one of the best import games available for the system. And I wouldn’t disagree with that.
Double Take, Commodore 64
Created by Denton Designs and published by Ocean Software in 1987, Double Take is a weird fantasy shooter/puzzle game, and is one of those games where – even if you read the manual – you’re still unlikely to know about what the f**k is going on! I spent a few hours recently trying to work this game out, and came away just as confused as when I started…
The Sword of Hope II, Game Boy
The sequel to the first Sword of Hope, The Sword of Hope II was developed and published by KEMCO in Japan in 1992, but wasn’t localized and released into North America until 1996. Europe (and the rest of the world) didn’t receive a release of the game at all.
The Sword of Hope, Game Boy
This first-person adventure/RPG was developed by KEMCO (a subsidiary of Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co.), and published by Seika Corporation in Japan, North America and Europe in 1989. In it, you play as Prince Theo, who is on a quest to challenge his insane, power-mad father for rule of the kingdom.
Seal of the Pharaoh, 3DO
Seal of the Pharaoh is a first-person dungeon-crawler with a tomb-raiding ancient Egyptian theme. It was developed by System Sacom and published in 1994, exclusively for the 3DO, by ASK Kodansha in Japan and Panasonic in North America.
Lagrange Point, NES/Famicom
Released in Japan only by Konami in 1991, Lagrange Point is a science fantasy JRPG set on a human colony ship in space (located at the Lagrangian points between Earth and the Sun). Communications are lost between colonies, so a search team is sent in to investigate.
Dazzler, Arcade
Dazzler is an obscure early arcade game – first released in 1982 – from UK-based Century Electronics. In it you play as “OH” (Our Hero) and must deliver bananas to a “monkey” (really an ape) inside a maze, and avoid chasing vultures.
Treasure Hunter G, Super Nintendo
Developed by Sting Entertainment and published by Squaresoft in 1996, Treasure Hunter G is a tactical Japanese Role-Playing Game that features exploration, turn-based combat and a fantasy-based storyline that mixes magic and technology. It was released in Japan only, but a fan translation makes it playable in English.
All Or Nothing, ZX Spectrum
Written by Paul W. Reynolds (the same guy who wrote the classic Krakatoa) and published by Abbex Electronics in 1984, All Or Nothing is an isometric action game where you parachute into an enemy camp on a mission to find and steal their secret plans.
The King of Grabs 