Shop
Here we have all the games in the Shop Section.
Famicom Cart
Platform
Delightful chip tunes add a cheery, medieval banquet feel to the old school platform action. The hero is a pixelated Robin Hood look-a-like who nimbly negotiates moving platform lifts to collect the keys to clear the cavernous levels.
Famicom Cart
Action
Delightful chip tunes add a cheery, medieval banquet feel to the old school platform action. The hero is a pixelated Robin Hood look-a-like who nimbly negotiates moving platform lifts to collect the keys to clear the cavernous levels.
Switch
Platform
Another mighty fine delve from Superdeluxe into Castlevania’s dank dungeons coming up trumps with the much-sought after GameBoy Advance versions. Pixel-perfect platforming action awaits those pure of heart and with iron will.
PS4
Platform
Another mighty fine delve from Superdeluxe into Castlevania’s dank dungeons coming up trumps with the much-sought after GameBoy Advance versions. Pixel-perfect platforming action awaits those pure of heart and with iron will.
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant Switch
Platform
Another irresistible Superdeluxe offering going back to Konami’s Gothic opus this time with a cracking array of titles from the much loved series. Includes the original Akumajo Dracula, a graphically enhanced remake version, Castlevania II Simon’s Quest, Akumajo Densetsu, Dracula Densetsu, Dracula Densetsu II, the rare Mega Drive Vampire Killer and Akumajo Special Boku Dracula Kun. Don’t have nightmares!
🏆Brilliant!
Brilliant PS4
Platform
Another irresistible Superdeluxe offering going back to Konami’s Gothic opus this time with a cracking array of titles from the much loved series. Includes the original Akumajo Dracula, a graphically enhanced remake version, Castlevania II Simon’s Quest, Akumajo Densetsu, Dracula Densetsu, Dracula Densetsu II, the rare Mega Drive Vampire Killer and Akumajo Special Boku Dracula Kun. Don’t have nightmares!
PS2
Action
Frees Master Belmont up in the third dimension to be able to take on all and sundry from the fourth dimension in spiffing Gothic splendour. The 3D perspective also allows the combat to come to the fore more than leaps of faith from platform to platform, whip lassoing chandeliers as Simon goes.
🥇Game of the Week
Game of the Week Switch
Platform
Includes the rare DS version Gallery of Labyrinth – Gothic chic has never looked so good as Count Dracula tries with all his vim and vigour to rid himself and his mansion of the trespassing Belmont clan – even if protagonists Jonathan and Charlotte’s links to the Belmont ancestry are slim. Both players have a different skills set. Keeps true to the manuscript of the Castlevania tradition and those familiar with its whip cracking action will feel right at home in the spooky splendour of the Counts castle. Concessions are made to the modern gamer in being able to plough right through quickly, yet the seasoned vampire slayer will take their time to explore the plethora of in game secrets. Plus players can leap into paintings to take on off shoots from the castle with plenty of visual variety in this platformer set in WWII. The bosses mark a stunning return to form and show the Konami team to not be shy on eating cheese before bed.
Another fine DS conversion in Castlevania Order of Ecclesia included too: Konami style alright – packed full with a bounty of varied levels and surprises all drawn in the most chic gothic fashion as the developers seem to have been hanging around the streets of Shinjuku with Gackt look a likes as much as Transylvanian castles. Plenty of innovative touches and a commendable blend of keeping true to the series traditions and bringing in new blood.
Finally includes the arcade version of Castlevania: Akumajo Dracula Revisited, also known as Haunted Castle.
PS5
Platform
Includes the rare DS version Gallery of Labyrinth – Gothic chic has never looked so good as Count Dracula tries with all his vim and vigour to rid himself and his mansion of the trespassing Belmont clan – even if protagonists Jonathan and Charlotte’s links to the Belmont ancestry are slim. Both players have a different skills set. Keeps true to the manuscript of the Castlevania tradition and those familiar with its whip cracking action will feel right at home in the spooky splendour of the Counts castle. Concessions are made to the modern gamer in being able to plough right through quickly, yet the seasoned vampire slayer will take their time to explore the plethora of in game secrets. Plus players can leap into paintings to take on off shoots from the castle with plenty of visual variety in this platformer set in WWII. The bosses mark a stunning return to form and show the Konami team to not be shy on eating cheese before bed.
Another fine DS conversion in Castlevania Order of Ecclesia included too: Konami style alright – packed full with a bounty of varied levels and surprises all drawn in the most chic gothic fashion as the developers seem to have been hanging around the streets of Shinjuku with Gackt look a likes as much as Transylvanian castles. Plenty of innovative touches and a commendable blend of keeping true to the series traditions and bringing in new blood.
Finally includes the arcade version of Castlevania: Akumajo Dracula Revisited, also known as Haunted Castle.
PS3
Action
Konami utilises its experience of all out action titles to good effect combining it like an expert chef with gothic decay and organic backgrounds as players face colossus proportioned bosses (without wishing to give too much away) alongside what looks like an extra from Colossus besides swinging across cliffs. Hats off.
Nintendo DS
Action
Reminiscent of the seminal Super Famicom ‘Yoshi’s Island’ both in terms of gameplay and pastal shaded graphics, play involves using the stylus to sketch clouds to protect baby Mario.
PS3
Simulation
Special title capturing the hopes and mainly fears of a late twenty something stuck in a cycle of not wishing to work too hard in a part time position but suffering the lack of financial stability that results in. The ever pressing fear of pregnant girlfriends and the alluring yet foreboding Catherine prey heavily on our protagonists mind as the character interaction plays out with a wealth of mini games. One such involves shifting platforms to climb to the top of the tower and success in these is linked to progress in the special game.
Super Famicom
Action
A platform setting for a fight based title in the action sense as players whop each other round the screen. Made special by a few familiar looking mechs appearing along side a shrunk down Devilman. Fun, action based title well worth a look.
Famicom Cart
Action
A single screen action title with a bird as star character that looks like he has been moonlighting in New Zealand Story. Taito excels in such games and its full of plenty of wholesome, good, clean gameplay.
Playstation
Simulation
The airplane sim is not a genre with many releases on any console format, so Airline Pilot provides welcome relief for all to enjoy the freedom of flight. Just watch for the turbulance in the thermals…
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.
Dreamcast
Simulation
Trials and tribulations as the course of Bishonen love never runs smoothly with experts in the field Takuyo setting the pastel tone.
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.