Tag Archives: weird

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II, Famicom

The second game in the Megami Tensei series was developed by Atlus and published for the Nintendo Famicom by Namco in 1990. It’s another Japan-only RPG featuring demon-summoning and turn-based combat and is considered by many to be much better than the first game.

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Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, Famicom

This is the very first Megami Tensei game, released for the Nintendo Famicom in 1987, and it looks very basic compared to later Megami Tensei games, but was the foundation on which a successful series was built.

Based on a trilogy of fantasy novels by Japanese author Aya Nishitani, Megami Tensei was originally created as TWO distinct role-playing games. One version (this game) was developed by Atlus and published by Namco in 1987 for the Famicom. A separate version for home computers was co-developed by Atlus and Telenet Japan and published by Telenet Japan the same year.

The original game was never officially released in the West due to its use of religious themes, and Nintendo‘s sensitivity to them, but an English fan translation does exist that can be applied as a ROM hack.

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Crystal Mines II, Atari Lynx

I would say that Crystal Mines II – an original puzzle game released exclusively for the Atari Lynx in 1992 – is arguably one of the best games on the system.

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The Eternal Castle, PC

The Eternal Castle is a stunning platform/action indie game from Leonard Menchiari, Daniele Vicinanzo, and Giulio Perrone, and published by Playsaurus in 2019.

It is a tribute to games such as Another World, Flashback, Limbo, and INSIDE, and features a lone character, running from left to right, moving from puzzle to puzzle, trying to survive in a weird, dark world full of technology, destruction, mystery and death.

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Shadow Warrior, PC

This remake of the classic Build engine shooter, Shadow Warrior, was developed by Flying Wild Hog and first released in 2013.

Like the original, it’s a hectic, balls-to-the-wall shooter that follows the exploits of a guy called Lo Wang and his fight against his boss, Orochi Zilla, and the mega corporation he commands (Zilla Industries).

I’ve played the second game extensively and really enjoyed it, so decided to buy this and see if it was any different. And it is!

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Dusk, PC

Dusk is a 2018 release from New Blood Interactive, developed by American programmer David Szymanski. It is a horror-themed first-person shoot ’em up with simplistic graphics, atmospheric music, lots of weapons, and plenty of blood and gore.

It doesn’t look like much when viewed as still screenshots, but the beauty of the game comes from its refined controls, interesting level design, and engaging, fast-paced gameplay.

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Phantasy Star III, Megadrive/Genesis

The third Phantasy Star game, subtitled Generations of Doom, was released for the Megadrive by Sega in 1990.

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Cosmic Spacehead, Megadrive/Genesis

Cosmic Spacehead is a 1993 Sega Megadrive release for British publisher Codemasters. It is, in fact, an enhanced remake of a previous Codemasters game, Linus Spacehead’s Cosmic Crusade.

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Toejam & Earl, Megadrive/Genesis

Developed by Johnson Voorsanger Productions for Sega and published on the Megadrive in 1991, Toejam & Earl is a cult collect ’em up starring two alien rappers who have crash-landed on Earth.

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Flashback, Megadrive/Genesis

Delphine Software‘s classic futuristic adventure game, Flashback, came out first on the Amiga in 1992 but was originally developed with the Sega Megadrive as its target platform.

Timing and cartridge production issues meant that it came out after a number of other ports had already been released, but that didn’t dent enthusiasm for the game on the Megadrive.

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