How do you play Wizardry, 1981's hottest RPG, in 2022? "With some difficulty" is the only honest answer, as official access to Sir-Tech's pioneering dungeon crawling adventure is virtually nonexistent. The Ultimate Wizardry Archives for DOS/Windows was as close as the series ever got to a convenient compilation, but that came out so long ago the pack's now … Continue reading WELCOME TO THE WIZARDRY WORLD
The bulk of Spriggan Mark 2's manual isn't used to describe the stages to come, or show off some of the intimidating enemies ahead, or even spend any more time than it absolutely has to with something as ordinary and essential as basic instruction. Instead this full colour booklet's densely-packed pages are used to pass on … Continue reading Speak ’em shmup
A quick word of warning before we begin: All of the English interpretations of Japanese text found here are for better or worse my own, and often paraphrased for brevity's sake. Please consider them general aids designed to convey the gist of what's going on or indicate the general mood of a scene rather than … Continue reading Descendants of the Light
Originally a 1992 Japanese PC Engine exclusive before being finally gifted to the world in 2008 via the Wii's Virtual Console service (the same year it appeared on the PSP's now painfully expensive Soldier Collection) and again over a decade later as part of the PC Engine/CoreGrafx/TurboGrafx-16 Mini line up, Star Parodier is - yep, you've guessed it … Continue reading A PC Engine parody
There was a time when it felt like you couldn't move for arcade titles eager to scoot you from one allegedly real-world location to the next, each stage set against a backdrop showing a famous landmark or some focal point that suggests a tourist's idea of the region: Bomb Jack, City Connection, Street Fighter II... … Continue reading Pomping Pang Bros.
As someone who was introduced to the PC Engine via a string of Duos and vanilla PC Engines firmly attached to briefcase-like CD attachments (do have a quick look, they're beautiful things) - a world of CD-stored speech, stunning cutscenes, and Nineties anime tie-ins - I always thought HuCards were a bit disappointing. They were the basic … Continue reading A shining Super Star
As you may have already guessed from the photo above, the overly-named Bomberman: Panic Bomber is yet another spinoff of Hudson's evergreen Bomberman franchise - this time a puzzle game where little Bomber-heads fall from the top of the screen in L-shaped clusters of three, the aim being to line up a trio or more of the … Continue reading A bit of a dud
What happens after you save the world? Well if you happen to be the caped hero of a charming fantasy RPG you round up a few of your old friends, make some new ones, and then go off to save the world all over again a few short years later. In a smart move for … Continue reading So good they saved the world twice
Developed by Human and released exclusively for the PC Engine in 1994, this largely disconnected and untranslated sequel to the original Vasteel is another sci-fi strategy title starring hot-headed resistance heroes all too eager to yell PG-rated insults at well-dressed militaristic people as both sides stomp around in giant mech-type weaponry known in this particular … Continue reading Move Crushers and Voice Knuckles
From the instant you fall through the first stage's blossom-pink skies and into Jinmu Denshou's stripy world you know exactly what Big Club/Wolf Team's into-the-screen shooting PC Engine exclusive is going to be like - it's going to be like Space Harrier. As instantly recognisable as the visual style of Sega's arcade titan is few games ever dared … Continue reading Welcome to another fantasy zone – get ready?
Kimimi The Game-Eating She-Monster 