Surely nobody back in 1993, the same year Phantasy Star IV debuted in Japan and Starfox's Super FX powered polygons were busy wowing people everywhere, hoped the NES would receive it's own version of Capcom's Final Fight - a late '80s game that by then had already been ported to the SNES (twice), appeared on various home computers ranging from … Continue reading Sometime in the 1990’s…
Kira Kira Star Night DX is a brand new (well, 2016) Famicom game from RIKI, also responsible for the excellent 8-Bit Music Power cart-based music album released in the same year.The aim here is a simple one - help Kirara-chan collect enough stars before the timer runs out to clear the stage - and like … Continue reading A sparkling Famicom star
This Famicom port of Mugen Senshi Valis is a picture-perfect example of how fast and loose early ports could treat their subject matter, a pre-existing brand seen as a list of ideas more than it was a list of unbreakable rules. Released in 1987, a year after the PC-88, FM-7, and PC-98 versions of the first Valis … Continue reading Valisvania: Yuko’s Quest
I find unusual old games by now-famous developers absolutely irresistible - just look at Square's 1986 sci-fi computer game Cruise Chaser Blassty and tell me honestly that's not fascinating (if flawed) - which is why I had to snap up Quest's (yep, that's Tactics Ogre Quest) Famicom platformer Maten Douji, known in the US under its localised title Conquest of … Continue reading Good games have more than just good gameplay
For whatever reason this 1989 port of Enix's 1987 computer game Jesus: Kyofu no Bio Monster to Nintendo's Famicom was handled by King Records, who are best known in the field for publishing, erm, Jesus: Kyofu no Bio Monster on the Famicom. The game's a creepy sci-fi adventure crafted in an era-standard style with no biblical references whatsoever … Continue reading On the Famicom, no one can hear you scream…
All early signs point to this 1987 Konami title being at best yet another The Legend of Zelda clone made with good intentions and inevitably poor execution: The lone hero, the overworld littered with some suspiciously deliberate rock formations, the black holes in south facing walls leading to monster-filled dungeons or new areas entirely - … Continue reading Everything’s better with dragons
The late Eighties/early Nineties were a pretty good time to be the sort of kid who read encyclopedias for fun, grew crystal gardens in an old fish tank, and thought stargazing was a cool hobby: Kids like tha- OK, kids like me, could see a little something of ourselves in the most popular cartoons of … Continue reading Donatello is the best turtle
When you stumble upon a Famicom game whose packaging boldly declares itself to be nothing less than the title of this post during an extended online shopping session it's impossible to scroll on past like you've just seen your 345th "Rare Japan l@@k" retro baseball cartridge or yet another board game with a cover illustration … Continue reading The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth™
It's worth making this clear before we delve any further: Yes, this is that Resident Evil running on Nintendo's Famicom. And yes, it's about as official a product as a gold-effect "Rolex" briefly seen hanging from the inside of a snap-close briefcase held by a man who only accepts cash and will definitely not be there … Continue reading A house of the dead
There are no doubt bacterial growths living ten miles under the surface of Mars that are well aware Sweet Home is the game responsible for setting out much of Resident Evil's successful survival horror framework by now: The tension-building creaky door animations forcing players to briefly live through the eyes of these unlucky souls, the … Continue reading Resident Evil’s other prequel
Kimimi The Game-Eating She-Monster 