Konami‘s Cave Noire is a smart little handheld ‘Roguelike’ dungeon crawler for the Nintendo Game Boy that was first released in Japan in 1991. Cave Noire did not receive a release outside of its native country, which is a pity because it’s an excellent game.
Tag Archives: RPG
Final Fantasy Legend II, Game Boy
This 1991 sequel to the classic Squaresoft RPG Final Fantasy Legend is considered by many to be even better than the first game. And I would have to concur with that view.
Final Fantasy Legend, Game Boy
Final Fantasy Legend on the Nintendo Game Boy is a game that particularly resonates with me because I remember buying it back in 1989 and playing it to death over the space of six months. Everywhere I went at the time I had my Game Boy, battery pack, and Final Fantasy Legend cartridge, and I would play it whenever I had the time. And when I hear the iconic music playing it takes me back like a time machine…
Final Fantasy Adventure, Game Boy
The first game in the Seiken Densetsu (aka “Mana“) series was released on the black and white, handheld Nintendo Game Boy in June 1991.
It’s a spin-off from the famous Final Fantasy series, also by Square. In Japan the original title was Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden (translating as “Holy Sword Legend: Final Fantasy Side Story”). In the West it was released under the title Final Fantasy Adventure.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Game Boy
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993) is like a mini version of the Super Nintendo classic A Link To The Past (1991) – both games share more than just the same DNA. At times Link’s Awakening feels like A Link To The Past without colour. Which is a huge compliment because A Link To The Past is one of the best games ever made. This, too, is among the best Game Boy games of all time.
Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Game Boy
Crystalis, NES
Crystalis was SNK‘s response to Nintendo‘s Zelda games back in 1990, it being an action adventure with real-time combat, just like Zelda. But Crystalis is definitely something more than simply a Zelda clone – it is one of the best games on the system and a great game in its own right.
Lady Stalker: Challenge From The Past, Super Nintendo
This 1995 Japan-only Taito release is a follow-up (spin-off, rather than a sequel) to Landstalker on the Sega Megadrive.
Continue reading Lady Stalker: Challenge From The Past, Super Nintendo
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Game Boy Advance
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the Game Boy Advance is a brilliant mix of platforming and level-grinding.
The ‘twist’ in this game is that you control both Mario and Luigi simultaneously during the game, and can switch between each character – or use them in tandem – to solve certain puzzles.
Continue reading Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Game Boy Advance
Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 5]
Seiken Densetsu 3 was released by Squaresoft in 1995 and an English fan translation came out in 2000. Only five years after the game’s original release there was a fan translation… That’s unheard of. And there are various translations available now, including German and French.
Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 4]
I absolutely love the graphical style of Squaresoft‘s Seiken Densetsu 3. It’s a masterwork of pixel graphics artistry. Everything in it, from the characters, to the buildings, to the items, and to the magic spell effects are all incredibly well presented and thought-out. These are definitely among the most iconic 2D RPG graphics ever made. And the people who made them deserve a round of applause from the rest of the gaming world for creating them. 🙂
