Shop
Here we have all the games in the Shop Section.
Famicom Cart
Action
Scroll freely on the open plain firing at adversaries and then tackling the platform sections with pixel perfect jumps. Nicely paced, wholesome 8bit action.
PC Engine HU Card
Sports
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.
Mega Drive
Sports
Arcade style play mechanics with international teams, cat like keepers and prima donna strikers. Simple to pick up and play but very enjoyable as a result.
Sega Saturn
Shooter
On the rails shooter with plenty of twists and turns: enough to generate motion sickness. Players journey through the cityscape to the edges of the stratosphere with plenty of finger powered needed to take down mechs and alien vessels.
Gamecube
Action
A fun, all-action racing game with super deformed characters from the Ultraman and Kamen Rider roster making up the majority of the starting line with other well know live action heroes thrown in to the mull. Courses take a variety of routes even through homes and the bath house at times and the emphasis is on fun rather than a serious race. And the humour combined with the colourful look produce a worthy import cracker. Can be translated as Bike Hero.
Mega Drive
Shooter
Forced scrolling shooter of legendary fame on the Mega Drive with slick, sharp reflexes a requisite to see more of the parallax scrolling and attention to detail, like the flickering flame lamps, not that you get much time to savour it. Imaginative levels and bosses plus smooth animation with fine scaling make this an all time entry into the vintage Mega Drive vault.
Gamecube
A Bit Special
Savvy, genre defying developer of Moon on the Playstation and Lack of Love on the Dreamcast turns his hand to little robots whose aim is simple: to please their owners. The wee robot will clean the house all just to see a smiling face of the owner and for a charge using the plug in their back. Various items allow the robot to further explore the giant house such as the copter to fly and the spoon to dig whilst remembering to bag a bit of moolah. As ever quite difficult to place in a succinct genre as it is to put down.
PS Vita
RPG
Reminiscent of Princess Crown with its beautiful pastel shading and use of contrast between light and dark, besides the heroine princess main protagonist. Feels like a brooding fairy tale coming to life.
Playstation
RPG
A mysterious adventure with an off-kilter feel to the game well suited to a title that translates as Super Riddle.
Super Famicom
One on One Beat Em Up
Roughly translating as ‘Super Big Brother’, this is the closest you get to the Village People on a console! Highly imaginative, very wacky digitised graphics to the point where you’ll wonder if shiitake are the only mushrooms the creators have been having in their miso soup. Drifts away from the shooting action of its predecessors for a one on one fist fest taking place in mid air – reassuringly with female characters too. Although the fart attacks are no way to treat a lady.
Super Famicom
Shoot Em Up
Roughly translating as ‘Super Big Brother’, this is the closest you get to the Village People on a console! Highly imaginative, very wacky digitised graphics to the point where you’ll wonder if shiitake are the only mushrooms the creators have been having in their miso soup. Drifts away from the shooting action of its predecessors for a one on one fist fest taking place in mid air – reassuringly with female characters too. Although the fart attacks are no way to treat a lady.
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant Switch
Shoot Em Up
Another Switch update: this time of the fantastic, funky Super Famicom version. Roughly translating as ‘Super Big Brother’, this is the closest you get to the Village People on a console. Highly imaginative, very wacky digitised graphics to the point where you’ll wonder if shiitake are the only mushrooms the creators have been having in their miso soup. Drifts away from the shooting action of its predecessors for a one on one fist fest taking place in mid air – even with female characters too. Although the fart attacks are certainly no way to treat a lady.
Switch
Shoot Em Up
Two game package in Choaniki and Ai Choaniki of PC Engine fame making the transition to the Switch. To those who have yet to encounter it, Choaniki is a very wacky shooter from Japan. Expect the unexpected in a Kikikaikai style. Never a dull moment in this blaster with a cult following. Ai Choaniki roughly translates as ‘Love Super Big Brother’, this is the closest you get to the Village People on a console. Highly imaginative characters and bosses to the point where you’ll wonder if shiitake are the only mushrooms the creators have been having in their miso soup. Playable as Adon or Samson.
Nintendo DS
RPG
Like a Pandora’s box the magic book has unleashed uninvited guests and requires our yellow feathered Chocobo to collect the pages to restore friends back to their bird like state. Like a children’s fable 2D stories loving set the scene and it’s a plethora of enjoyable mini games that must be completed to progress: be it an item grab, drawing with the stylus or a good ol’ Chocobo race. Also known as Final Fantasy Fables Chocobo Tales.
Playstation
A Bit Special
Three games in one, very collectable compilation to celebrate Chocobo’s tenth anniversary: Chocobo Stallion, Chocobo Racing and Dice de Chocobo. Genki can’t resist the charms of Chocobo Racing: even our stony features raise a smile when seeing the legs of the bird like creature whizzing along in this Mario Kart style racer. Shortcuts are great, when remembered that is. Well thought out and varied courses and some superb power ups. Whilst it may lack marks for originality, when the source material is so fine, who is complaining? Chocobo Stallion allows you to train up your chosen Chocobo from cute little fledgling to champion race stallion in this twist on the horse racing game.
Playstation
RPG
Squaresoft utilises its RPG experience as the Chocobo bird takes centre stage. Well, there is a torch light held to it in the dungeons, if not quite centre stage. Delightful rendered levels.
Playstation
Action
Genki can’t resist the charms of a Chocobo: even our stony features raise a smile when seeing the legs of the bird like creature whizzing along in this Mario Kart style racer. Shortcuts are great, when remembered that is. Well thought out and varied courses and some superb power ups. Whilst it may lack marks for originality, when the source material is so fine, who is complaining?
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.
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.
Playstation
Sports
Combines the fun of pull back and go toy cars with the right blend of driving thrills and spills action. The cartoony approach over the realistic version makes it a very enjoyable ride.
Nintendo 64
Sports
Genki can’t fault any racing game that lets you ride as a Ramen truck and the cel shaded sprite look of Choro Q looks like a car chase from the legendary Lupin anime and is appropriate to its toy car roots. Known as Penny Racers in the West, but we aren’t sure if the ramen truck made the cut.
Playstation
Sports
Fun racing game due to the sprite graphics keeping action fast paced and the car physics a bit more forgiving. Great locales from the Big Truck arena to the Daytona style open circuit.
Famicom Cart
Sports
Nice chip tunes and sound effects so players know when the ball is going up and also, more importantly, when it is going to drop down for the catch. A very well thought out and nicely presented sports game that covers all bases. Known as Baseball Simulator 1.000 in the West.
Playstation
RPG
Input from the Final Fantasy producer and a near army of playable characters each with their own story setting Chrono Cross in the top flight of RPG games living up to the weighty burden the prequel created. Players can combine attacks together adding a tactical element to the combat and its nice to be able to see a potential battle sequence unfolding so it can be avoided for the battle weary.
Super Famicom
RPG
Truly epic and immense adventure that you know has the high Squaresoft assurance of quality from the very outset. With excellent characterisation thanks to the endeavours of Akira Toriyama of DragonBall Z fame and the input from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest producers add an extra A to this triple-A title. Aurally it delights too with Yasunori Mitsuda’s genius imprinted all over the soundtrack that is appropriate to each era.
Famicom Cart
Platform
Brings back the gaming fun with a unique twist on the platform genre in that it is played by a car. Drivers must cover as many of the platform levels as possible and in doing so complete the road they drive over. Some mightily impressive sprite rotation techniques as the players car changes direction or it fires a bullet into the pursuing police cars to spin them out of control. Nice backgrounds too with the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben guesting.
Brilliant Mega Drive
Platform
Brings back the gaming fun from the Famicom era with a unique twist on the platform genre in that it is played by a car. Drivers must cover as many of the platform levels as possible and in doing so complete the road they drive over. Some mightily impressive sprite rotation techniques as the players car changes direction or it fires a bullet into the pursuing police cars to spin them out of control. Nice backgrounds too with the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben guesting. Well worth its revival on the Mega Drive – a true labour of love from Habit Soft converting the arcade version with features not possible on the Famicom plus a few bonus extras.
PS2
Action
Highly original in the choice of helicopter that must be piloted to dowse city fires and rescue pregnant ladies, gentlemen and even dogs on roofs. Not too sure how they get on the roof on some occasions, but no time for such superfluous questions when on missions where time is of the essence.
Playstation
Simulation
One of the more popular horse racing simulation game series that draws you in to the world of horses.
Playstation
Simulation
Further evidence of Japanese skills in making spooky psychological software comes courtesy of Human who were busy terrifying gamers well before Capcom’s zombie onslaughts. Graphic murders involving scissors lead you to think you’re next as you point and click light puzzle elements away towards revealing the murderer’s true identity. Occasional appearances of the scissorman will put a chill down your spine and quick thinking is needed to evade his advances. A panic meter can be used if fully charged to escape temporarily however this can only be used three times before becoming exhausted. In game items can be used as weapons, but once used they can’t be restored to the gaming world so quick thinking is a must.