Budget Basement
All games listed under £12 are to be found in this basement section. All games are in stock and ready to ship
All budget items in stock. Use the menu to narrow your search.
PS2
Sports
Any game with that boasts Cha Kato in his underwear and glasses cant take itself too seriously all the time. Plenty of tight pants and tight spots with clearly distinguishable wrestlers each having their own signature moves to help manipulate your spine into impossible contours. Known as WWE Smack Down in the West.
PS2
Sports
Each wrestler makes a dramatic introduction complete with visual razzmatazz to get the adrenalin flowing pre-bout. Plenty of care and attention has been laden on the gameplay rather than just on each wrestler’s persona making for a fluid grapple. Square’s RPG eye for detail remains firmly intact with spots of blood remaining in the same place during the bout. And as innovatively as ever the controls are implemented by the analogue sticks making pulling off a special an achievement rather than a piece of cake adding much reward to a victory.
Playstation
Simulation
Interweaves different time zones from the past, present and future very cleverly to make for a seamless anime adventure with tasty cut scenes as seasoned anime veterans may expect with those fine production values overflowing into the game too.
PS2
Platform
A fine 3D platform escapade with the manga coming to life complete with speed lines and stretchy limbs. The look is 3D, but the action is more 2.5D making it both playable and full of clever gaming twists that bring the vibrant series kicking, screaming and yelling to the PS2. Known in the West as One Piece Round the Land.
PS2
RPG
3D RPG allowing you to draw your own characters to play with in game and as such limited only in the scope of your imagination. An innocent theme and colourful, vibrant graphics with some light RPG elements. Also known as Magic Pengel, prequel to Graffiti Kingdom.
Sega Saturn
A Bit Special
The Tokimeki phenomena is absolutely immense in Japan and as such fan service releases such as this go down a treat there. But Konami have kept an eye out for the growing band of overseas fans with some English language messages and menu translations when accessed via a PC. On the Saturn the disk is crammed with media with music video clips, art gallery presentations even the chance to play paper, scissors, stone with your favourite Tokimeki character.
Playstation
Sports
Tennis games have never needed over eloborate graphics as the cartoony, highly playable Smash Court remonstrates with panache. Some highly imaginative courts including inside a stately home, an ornamental garden complete with arcade machine and a beach!
Sega Saturn
Sports
A tasty piece of programming making the PlayStation eat humble pie. Crisp graphics running a a high frame rate truly brought the arcade experience home. But gameplay is what counts – the developer’s extensive rally car physics research oozes from every powerslide.
Playstation
Sports
Delightful tennis from Namco given a neo Tokyo, super fly make over, but the zany courts are an ever present – be in the Great Barrier Reef, the Houses of Parliament or the Theme Park complete with Splatterhouse attraction. In fact the game is full of self references – Namco certainly appreciate their rich heritage. Plays like a dream without the need for flash polygons.
Sega Saturn
One on One Beat Em Up
Subtitled: Darkstalkers’ Revenge. The Saturn was made for titles of this ilk: wonderfully balanced characters hammering it out in 2D bliss. You can feel Capcom’s spark return in this Saturn classic.
XBOX
Action
Combos doesn’t really go far enough as opponents are more dissected in air with a samurai sword. Yet quick reflexes are a requisite with some enemies using more modern weapons than the traditional ninja. Puts back the fear into the word boss.
XBOX
Action
Samurai slasher less cerebral than the ‘Biohazard’ series, but the beautifully realised feudal Japanese world draws you in.
PS2
RPG
An epic series with a monumental story – like a beautifully woven tapestry the way the threads come together. Cel-shaded sprites blur the boundaries between anime and gaming. A real pinnacle in terms of the series.
PS2
RPG
A vast world to explore, but led gently by Namco’s fair hand with cut scenes and stirring orchestral score to crank up the tension. A JRPG series with a dedicated following.
Sega Saturn
One on One Beat Em Up
Could the Saturn have beaten the Playstation had this release been the version ‘Remix’ was? Still sold by the bucketload. AM2 flexing it’s Naomi board porting muscles.
PS2
One on One Beat Em Up
Tekken’s success led to its big budget feel in terms of introducing the bouts and its slick presentation. The fight mechanics have been well-worked on as much as the elaborate backgrounds, be it jungle, shopping centre with excited shoppers or the urban, underground car park complete with appropriate acoustics for a concrete fight. Not forgetting the showdown in the ring too…
Sega Saturn
Simulation
Plays like a Jackie Chan film without the excessive fighting as players take the role of a Chinese detective on the trail of a murderer in downtown Hong Kong. Plenty of signs to set the scene and a great stereotyped chief with cigarette never too far from his moustached mouth. Plenty of friction between the player and his lovely assistant but its all in a good days work for Kowloon’s finest.
Sega Saturn
Action
Booming Bond song in a karaoke style announces the arrival of the big budget Gundam juggernaut with slick intro with high production values evident in the nostalgic anime intro. The action is perfectly accessible as hulking mechs smash chunks out of each other following some suitably heated avatar exchange.
Sega Saturn
Simulation
Footage, sound clips, mini games and merchanising that was wowing gamers back in the Tokyo 97 game show. Players collect cards for their files and each card reveals some fine footage from the epoch defining anime series.
Playstation
Simulation
Train up your chose Chocobo from cute little fledgling to champion race stallion in this twist on the horse racing game. Great for fans of Squaresoft.
Playstation
Shooter
Light gun game full of fun and a real pleasure to play as a result. The conversion doesn’t betray its arcade roots and the levels are zippy with players being thrown into the fray to stop a car heading straight for them, keep a can up in the air in a shooting version of keepy upy or shooting the fleeces off poor sheep that scamper by. Known in the West as Point Blank 2.
PS2
One on One Beat Em Up
Arcade port is almost perfect with stirring orchestral score and dazzling, fluid special moves and combo’s. Still remains one of the finest fighters ever to grace the console scene.
PS2
Sports
‘Feel the sports emotion’ as Square tackle real world physics of racing with a plethora of Japanese sports cars. Includes the Suzuka and lesser known Tsukuba circuits.
Sega Saturn
One on One Beat Em Up
With graphics as fluid as old man Shun’s drunken style kung – fu, jaws dropped over the huge leap from the predecessor to make this the series finest hour?
Sega Saturn
RPG
Fans of the great Shining Wisdom series will not be disappointed with Working Designs great update. The sickly sweet sprite world draws you in for an epic, Zelda like adventure.
Playstation
One on One Beat Em Up
Sequel to the original 94 release and mean fighter, but actually the first conversion to the PSX. Plenty of specials and a guest appearance of Neo Geo Land, Japan as one of the stages. The dark and moody Korean stage with rain lashing down and burning tree gets Genki’s vote though. The game zips along even if the loading times aren’t quite as fast missing the Saturns extra cart.
PC Engine HU Card
Sports
King of the ring slug fest from the dark destroyer Cream, with the bonus of a side scrolling beat ’em up thrown in there for good measure like Legend of Success Joe on the Neo Geo in which you hunt down your father’s killers. Some cool and mean pugalists and trainers to choose from including Cutie Ann and the Yakuza look a like Mr. Ran. Training is also possible in the gym with medicine balls tossed at you to test your reflexes along with bag work.
Famicom Cart
Action
Battle against various other animals such as rats, bats and cows to knock each other out by rolling balls along the tabletop. Each character has their own unique characteristics making them difficult to beat.
Game Gear
Simulation
Gundam in Japan is huge in both popularity stakes and sprawling stories. Humans enter the cockpits of giant mecha robots to fight with other suitably proportioned mecha robots.
Famicom Cart
Shooter
This helicopter rescue game positively zips along with a very impressive sense of depth. Yet players need to keep a keen eye on the foreground as tanks and turrets try to take out your tail blade. Good variation in locales: from city to mountain via dessert and cavernous lagoon.
Super Famicom
Platform
Rare developed the Donkey Kong series with revolutionary, rendered, solid visuals squeezing high level performance out of the SFC and sleek play mechanics. Team work is essential to succeed with each monkey having their own special ability: Dixie can hover in the air thanks to her rotating pony tail, Diddy can roll through enemies to get out of a tight fix. Plenty of ropes, switches and barrels make the player develop primordial levels of inquisitiveness with the backgrounds toying with anything that looks remotely interactive. Its easy to see where the series continued to go from strength to strength without any slip ups.
Super Famicom
Sports
SD football at its finest with shrunken versions of Gundam and Kamen Rider nipping down the wing to use their super-human powers to rise like a canary and ripple the onion net. Plenty of futuristic stadiums to choose from.
Famicom Cart
Platform
A game carrying many a fond memory of teenage Famicom fans in Japan. Sadly, it now means many of those teenagers are now Salarymen, but flying along on a skateboard and grabbing the fruit will get that glint back in the eye of the most jaded. Also known as Takahashi Meijin no Boukenshima.
Famicom Cart
Action
Classic and little known action title in the mould of PacMan, but a bit more cerebral as players are required to collect various power ups and holy books in order to seal the tomb and complete the stage. The forced scrolling tends to change direction and force well made plans into reverse, but its all part of the hard to put down fun. Pure Nintendo magic.
Super Famicom
RPG
Stunningly beautiful in a sprite based Super Famicom way, Capcom proved it had more to it than mere fight fests in this masterpiece. The artwork for the box is well worthy of mention too. Still the title is a little more linear than the work of its rival: the mighty Final Fantasy series, but Breath of Fire at least manages to singe its Chocobo feathers. (It’s no shame to say it wouldn’t hold a torch light to Link. But Genki has always had a glint in its eye for any Zelda title.) Plenty of hours gameplay on offer and a well woven story line.
Famicom Cart
Shoot Em Up
Vertically scrolling shooter set in a land before time. Some very smart power ups available to turn your dragon from a look a like of Puff the Magic Dragon into a three headed fire breathing beast!
Game Gear
Sports
A fine F1 title that heralded the arrival of a console a bit special. Realistic in the sense that your team matters as in real F1 and careful choice is a must before you can consider clambering onto the podium. Also includes an arcade mode for a frantic quick fix for rev heads.
Famicom Cart
Platform
Any game featuring colourful fruit power ups can’t be bad in Genki’s eyes and Donkey Kong Junior is in fine fettle as the wee monkey leaps from vine to vine in a more aerial assault on his papa gone crackers. Vintage gaming from an exciting era of home consoles.
Famicom Cart
Platform
Cracking retro blast as players bound around on screen with a bold palette, funky tunes and full on action gameplay. Bombs are dropped to reveal items to help progress whilst avoiding the mice and the hot pursuit of the gun wielding authorities. A superb license that shouldn’t be missed.
Super Famicom
RPG
Traverse the lands in your merry band with battles never too far away. The classic Enix fight interface is never celebrated more than in the Dragon Quest series and it remains a cherish memory in many a Japanese household.