Competent arcade blast with some very demanding tunnel sections and some clever parallax effects. Thankfully stabilisers can be collected to protect your ship from collisions within the confined spaces of the tunnels. Plenty of variety between levels with cityscape backgrounds before the space showdown.
Gate ball is the sport of croquet more or less and with some fine, Japanese style theming, players must not only whack the ball through the gate, but also think about the dangle of the angle for their next shot. Works well on the Engine.
Not your standard shooter as Robo Kid uses a unique firing system and the levels vary from horizontally scrolling to maze type. Fresh in a crowded PC Engine market place.
A Japanese exclusive release that doesn’t pop up too often, a bit like the caped crusader himself. A clever isometric perspective sees Batman manoeuvre the maze like Gotham themed levels, biffing bad guys and collecting power-ups en route. Clever use of warps and cutting free poison gas balloons are requisites in the later levels, all culminating in the showdown with the Joker himself.
Set in the Japan of old. Attention to detail recreates the feel of feudal Japan and the life of the master priest Benkei. Randomly generated battle sequences.
Move parts of pipe around the screen to ensure the safe passage of the ball. Like all great puzzlers, really simple to play; yet gameplay soon becomes devishly fiendish causing very sweaty palms!
A spiritual sequel to Operation Wolf, but this time the player traverses in an Ikari Warriors style. Gritty to the point where you can almost hear the grenade pin squeaking in teeth, the action is complemented by Nam 75 style into the screen shooting battles. Classic arcade shooting.
Absolute classic gameplay assures Bomber Man a place in the gaming hall of fame. Simple graphics suit the fast pace perfectly as later 3D attempts remonstrated. Multiplayer is where this comes into its own.
Absolute classic gameplay assures Bomber Man a place in the gaming hall of fame. Simple graphics suit the fast pace perfectly as later 3D attempts remonstrated. Multiplayer is where this comes into its own and the 93 version is well designed for five player frolics.
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.
With a multitude of contestants each with different personalities and special moves, there’s plenty here to keep the grapple fan pinned. A real scream in four player mode. Utilises a more subtle control method than the usual button bashers and gameplay is enhanced as a result.
Control a green lizard who must eat insects and spit them out into plants in order to progress, hindered by the fact you can only use your tail to climb the fiendishly designed levels. Possibly the rarest game on the system which received a proper release.
Science fiction futuristic take on the RPG, think of Ys in space with not a fair maiden in sight. Lasers should be set to kill with all the battles which help to gain the vital experience points, but with expansive levels as grand as space itself, interesting sub plots and great combat mechanics this is a fine PC Engine RPG.
WWII themed shooter with solid play mechanics and plenty of tanks to blow up and battleships to sink. You can also call in the squadron to help out when in a fix. Originally a Hu Card release also given a CD Rom update. Conversion of this title known as Twin Hawk in the arcades was licensed from shoot ’em up fanatics Toaplan.
Paperboy style action in that you run around town on a bicycle or moped delivering items to the good folk, but freer than Paperboy as there is no forced scrolling. The bike needs pedalling via the joypad and is slower, but it doesn’t require fuel stops like the moped. As expected, its not a simple task of getting from A to B: the police, the obligatory oil slicks, traffic and obasan’s on mopeds conceive to hinder your progress. Known in Japan as Kattobi Takuhai Kun.
An evil oni has placed the beautiful Izumi san under his spell and its up to Takashi to break her out of it by, in true game logic, playing break out! Vertical scrolling and apples instead of bricks bring variety to the retro gameplay.
There is a nice retro feel to the grid in F1 Pilot making for a very accomplished Engine racer. Features world circuits including Brazil, Monaco, Mexico, France, Belgium, Italy, Great Britain and of course Japan.
As the title would suggest, jousting between massive mechas – proving beyond doubt the Japanese gaming fraternity’s obbsession with fighting robots. The giant mechas battle it out travelling along a road, hence the ‘Run’ part of the title. Better in two player mode where power ups are keenly fought over.
Pilot the winged ship that can launch a fire phoenix attack and is also equipped with a smart bomb attack, but that loses all your power ups. Varied stages including over the surface of a planet, space ship and through a pyramid. Quite challenging too as the game engine seems to up the difficulty ante depending on how many power ups you have remaining at the end of the stage.
Sequel in the no hold barred hit series. Improved game modes include the ‘Excite’ and ‘World Champion’ Series as well as the sixteen player ‘Super Tournament’ and ‘Elimination Match’.
Sequel in the no hold barred hit series. Improved game modes include the ‘Excite’ and ‘World Champion’ Series as well as the sixteen player ‘Super Tournament’ and ‘Elimination Match’.
Third and final installment allows four player match ups and fighting both in and out of the ring. Watch out for Tommy Bomber’s Back Drop and Englishman Dynamic Billy’s Diving Head Butt!
Real test of stamina as getting the ball in the onion bag involves a fair amount of sweat and toil. Arcade style action comes into its own in two player mode.
Real test of stamina as getting the ball in the onion bag involves a fair amount of sweat and toil. Arcade style action comes into its own in two player mode.
Human’s top down arcade approach takes some getting used to when shooting down the screen. Yet it’s hard tackling style makes for good two player battles; even if they end up becoming a test of finger stamina.
