Tag Archives: Retro Gaming History

Konami, X68000

Akumajō Dracula, X68000

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The 1993 Sharp X68000 version of “Akumajō Dracula” is arguably the best version of the first Castlevania game available, with improved graphics and sound, and redesigned gameplay to accomodate new and more dramatic situations.

Also known as “Vampire Killer” in Europe; also known as “Castlevania” in North America; but known in its native Japan as “Akumajō Dracula“, this is an updated remake of the first game in the Castlevania series. And it is known for being two things: 1. REALLY GOOD, and 2. REALLY HARD!

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Konami, MSX

Vampire Killer, MSX

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Konami‘s “Akumajō Dracula” was first released in 1986 for the MSX2. It set the template for a series that is still going (relatively) strong to this day – the Castlevania series.

This MSX game was also the first game in the Castlevania series to be given an English language release, and it was released in 1987 in Europe under the title of “Vampire Killer“, which then changed to “Castlevania” when the North American NES version of this game was released on cartridge.

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Delphine Software, MS-DOS, PC, US Gold

Flashback, PC

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Also known as “The Quest for Identity“, Flashback is a classic platform action game from Delphine Software International, set some time in the future, where you’re trying to piece together your memory after a recent trauma. The MS-DOS version was first published by US Gold in 1993.

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gog.com, LucasArts, MS-DOS, PC, Steam

TIE Fighter, PC

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TIE Fighter was first released in 1994 and is the sequel to the smash hit space combat game, X-Wing, which are both of course based on spacecraft from the Star Wars universe. This time, though, you get to fight on the side of The Empire, who are widely seen as the ‘bad guys’ in the Star Wars series, so in this game you are blasting Rebels and their collaborators out of space, and not the other way around.

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gog.com, Jaleco, LucasArts, Lucasfilm Games, Steam

Maniac Mansion, NES/Famicom

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The NES/Famicom version of Maniac Mansion was developed and published by Jaleco in 1990 and is still worth playing today. It’s a fine port of a great game and translates well enough to Nintendo‘s machine that it arguably plays even better than the C64 original (although many will cry “Sacrilege!” to that).

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Apple II, Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium

The Oregon Trail, Apple II

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The Oregon Trail is a classic Apple II strategy/adventure game where you play as settlers travelling in a covered wagon on The Oregon Trail in 1848. As you might imagine, the trail is hostile and survival on it is brutal, so you have to prepare for your trip in advance by buying food, clothes, ammunition, spare parts, and oxen to pull your wagon.

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NES/Famicom, Nintendo

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, NES/Famicom

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Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! was developed by Nintendo R&D3 and was first published by Nintendo in 1987. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxing video games ever made, with well-animated cartoon-style characters and an intuitive and responsive control system.

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Atari Jaguar, Ocean Software, Team 17, Telegames

Worms, Atari Jaguar

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The Atari Jaguar version of Team 17‘s Worms was developed by Ocean Software and first published by Telegames in 1998. It was the final Atari-licensed title to be released for the Jaguar. This port is based on the PlayStation version of Worms, which is a good thing because the PS1 version is arguably the best version of the game ever made.

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