Tag Archives: platform game

Strangeloop, ZX Spectrum

Written by Charles Goodwin and published by Virgin Games in 1984, Strangeloop is a maze-based action adventure for the ZX Spectrum with a surreal, futuristic vibe to it.

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Hagane: The Final Conflict, Super Nintendo

Developed by CAProduction and published by Hudson Soft in 1994 for the Super Nintendo, Hagane: The Final Conflict is a side-scrolling action/platform game in which you control a cyborg ninja – called Hagane – who is on a revenge mission against a rival clan.

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Cosmo Police Galivan II: Arrow of Justice, Super Nintendo

Developed by Cream (aka “Creative Amusement“) and published exclusively for the Super Nintendo by Nihon Bussan Co., Ltd. (aka “Nichibutsu“) in 1993, Cosmo Police Galivan II: Arrow of Justice is the sequel to the arcade game Cosmo Police Galivan, and it is definitely one of the worst SNES games I’ve ever set my eyes upon.

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Cosmo Police Galivan, Arcade

Often shortened to just “Galivan“, this arcade platform game from Nichibutsu first came out in arcades in 1985. Outside of Japan, the game was little-known, but it did get ported to the C64, Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC in the West, and to the Famicom in Japan, to little or no success.

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Castlevania Special

Konami‘s classic Castlevania series is a well-known and much-loved collection of horror-themed games that spans from 1986 to the present day, although some may feel that the series has been neglected in recent times.

Castlevania began its existence in the form of the Famicom Disk System game, Akumajō Dracula, and has undergone many iterations, across almost all video game systems, including in the arcades, on handhelds, and on home computers and consoles.

Here’s a list of all the official Castlevania games ever made. Plus a selection of some of the best fan-made games and hacks.

In celebration of a landmark video game series!

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Castlevania: Rondo of the Night, PlayStation

Castlevania: Rondo of the Night is a ROM hack of the PlayStation classic, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and it was first released in June 2024. The aim of the hack is to change the gameplay, so that the player can do quicker and more athletic moves, and to surprise the player with a seemingly never-ending string of good ideas.

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Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Nintendo Wii

It’s a remake of Castlevania: The Adventure – originally released for the black and white Game Boy – except this time it’s been changed to look and play like something of a cross between an X68000 and a Super Nintendo Castlevania game. It could also be mistaken for a Castlevania arcade game. But it isn’t any of those.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth is a WiiWare game for the Nintendo Wii. It was released only through the WiiWare service for a number of years. At the time of writing, I don’t think it’s currently available to buy and play anywhere legally, which is a pity because it’s superb.

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Akumajō Dracula, MSX

The MSX and Famicom Disk System versions of Konami‘s original Akumajō Dracula (aka “Vampire Killer“), were being worked-on simultaneously by developers inside Konami, in 1985 and ‘86.

The Famicom Disk System version was released one month before the MSX version. Although they are essentially the same game, there are some significant differences between them.

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Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, GameCube

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is a 3D platform adventure, developed by Heavy Iron Studios (who, incidentally, made the Godawful Evil Dead: Hail to the King), and published by THQ for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC and Game Boy Advance in 2003.

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Super Smash Bros. Melee, GameCube

Super Smash Bros. Melee is a classic GameCube-exclusive fighting game, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo in 2001. It is the sequel to HAL‘s 1999 Nintendo 64 game, Super Smash Bros. It features an array of historical Nintendo characters, taken from a range of classic Nintendo games, and it pits them against each other in a dynamic fighting arena.

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