Bizarre musical adventure game converted popular enough to be converted over to the Mega CD, starring monks, kimono clad girls and Frankenstien. Controlled by simple on screen icons such as look, touch and talk. Totally mad.
A fine take on the fishing RPG genre popular on the GameBoy and given plenty of Konami polish that saw it rise to become a grand master in its gaming field. Lovely, cute sprites.
Fell of the Disney Fantastical with sparkling visuals and musical interludes to the gaming worlds that bring the magic to life. Seasoned gamers may get the feel of Nights with the aerial escapades and its clear this is a game from the fine stable that produced the Kingdom Hearts series.
Fans of the Jaguar CD may be as rare as the snow leopard, but those familiar with the add on may recognise this as Baddies given a Japanese make over by Banpresto. Players control little bald dudes within their own world in a fun simulation that certainly cant be accused of taking itself too seriously.
Fans of the Jaguar CD may be as rare as the snow leopard, but those familiar with the add on may recognise this as Baddies given a Japanese make over by Banpresto. Players control little bald dudes within their own world in a fun simulation that certainly cant be accused of taking itself too seriously.
Unusual action puzzle title where players must use robotic arms to grab balls from your opponent that cascade down the screen. Frantic at times especially as the count down reaches zero.
Classic Nintendo gameplay as the player floats higher and higher on screen to float past the obstacles, but the perpetual motion makes control a distinct art: knowing when to drop anchor and when to float like a bee.
A National Treasure gets a worthy update to hopefully woo more with its charms. Full of tongue in cheek humour as you’d expect from this developer and some very funny English translations. Huge title with plenty of levels and even a level editor for the DS version. Cunning counter attack method involves waiting until your ship is in imminent danger before launching the counter, and the results are the more spectacular depending on the level of danger. And based on the experience of past competitions, Treasure have made data transferable via sound so that another DS can upload it or even it can even be sent onto the net for the real high rollers.
Rare’s values shine through as virtuously as Nintendo’s in its quest to distil pure, gaming fun. And the partnership between the two was never as bosom buddy as it was on the Nintendo 64. Few can match Nintendo’s eye for detail, but Rare have savoured the gaming moment with this fine action title.
Sorely missed from the Nintendo brand with Rare having attained near Big N standards in its games and especially with the tweaks of the sequel. The gaming is pure, the worlds are well realised (with plenty of play testing) and the multilayer mini games add a generous extra helping to the cauldron.
A curio game that requires an adaptor to allow a Barcode Battler to be hooked up to the game to bring useful power points to fights. The gameplay itself is a traditional battle sim with plenty of super deformed robots needing bringing down to size.
Playable with Streets of Rage 1 or 2 soundtracks and plenty more nods to its retro roots, but doesn’t it look delightful with its moody settings capture the urban grit perfectly. Just hope players get the chance to appreciate the surrounds whilst swinging punches furiously.
Early baseball game from the sturdy SNK stable that uses that unique, exaggerated emotions of the players to capture the fun of the sport. Spoilt sluggers will lose their tempers snapping the bat in two at being out, but the mechanics are nice and simple making it easy to pick up and play for those lacking a passion for pitching and without an inkling for batting.
Update of the Super Famicom top seller with Itoi Shigesato given a full 3D work out on the N64. Initial catches won’t go breaking your tsuri controller, but these smaller catches can be used to bring in hard cash for upgrading the boat and equipment. As with all fishing, chatting to the locals will reveal the latest hot spots to check out for that killer bass. Just make sure the rumble pack is switched on to get that feel for the bite.
Quite arsoter of characters to choose from from yound whippersnapper to seasoned bass vet before taking to the wee boat and venturing out into the lake. Sensors give a good idea as to where to cast off and then the view turns to the underwater camera and the challenge of bagging a bass worthy of bragging about back in the club house.
Based on the manga with a rather curt name and a boy who transforms into a warrior worthy of the name when kissed by his heart throb, B@stard is a one on one fighter where the pugilists match up to each other in mid-air giving plenty of freedom of movement and making the mode 7 architecture work overtime. The fighters don’t come into contact as much, more long range projectile assaults are the order of the day to live up to the title. Subtitled ‘Ankoku no Hakaishin.’
Every detail exudes a triple A title with lavish visuals blended with anime avatars, stirring orchestral score and high-end voice acting. The look is really stunning even today adding up to an epic opus.
Always a treat to see a bit of effort go into a licensed title and Konami does justice to Gotham’s finest. Platform and Batmobile sections break up the beat em up pattern, but the fisticuffs are as enjoyable as a run in with catwoman as you hurle enemies through windows with the interactive backgrounds. Such attention to detail raises the level of licensed games especially when looking this good.
Wonderful to have the shooter torch passed on burning so brightly. Its just a shame you are not given a split second to appreciate the detailed sprites and parallax layers. And it is a shame you might wish for the absent slowdown in some levels such is the frantic pace of the on screen onslaught. Five levels of mayhem: please remember to keep an eye out for the pigs that need rescuing.
Wonderful to have the shooter torch passed on burning so brightly. Its just a shame you are not given a split second to appreciate the detailed sprites and parallax layers. And it is a shame you might wish for the absent slowdown in some levels such is the frantic pace of the on screen onslaught. Five levels of mayhem: please remember to keep an eye out for the pigs that need rescuing.
Wonderful to have the shooter torch passed on burning so brightly. Its just a shame you are not given a split second to appreciate the detailed sprites and parallax layers. And it is a shame you might wish for the absent slowdown in some levels such is the frantic pace of the on screen onslaught. Five levels of mayhem: please remember to keep an eye out for the pigs that need rescuing.
One of only three SG blast fests and with the other two being Aldynes and 1941, Battle Ace was always going to be hard pushed to jostle for a place higher up the winners podium. Still BA makes a valiant attempt opting for an an internal Elite style view out from your space ship. The gameplay is far less cerebral than Braben’s opus, more on the lines of After Burner’s Top Gun triggger happy gameplay. Perhaps just pushing the Super Grafx hardware a little too far? But good for a short arcade style thrill.
Complete with slip card case and registration card. Slight creases on manual edge. Slight peel on spine of Hu Card case sticker. Light scuffing to card slip as is common.
Enjoy an anime sports day with swimming, cycling, running events all presented in a high school setting with lead role going to Akari chan. The game takes place over the whole school term with plenty of distractions to keep players interested.
Conan style fight fest with plenty of swords, axes and scantily clad ladies to battle against. Sammy has a good arcade heritage and the mechanics see that it shines through here.
Plenty of tributes to its mighty back catalogue in game for the discerning gamer. Taking out tanks that appear in the maze means keeping a keen eye out for where they will appear, if in control of the skirmish. Otherwise it means grabbing those freeze power ups or blasting a whole in the maze to sit in, perhaps even behind camouflage.
Overhead perspective race title that simulates the real sport in the need for lightening fast reflexes and ideally a good memory of the the corners. Increases the tactical element by requiring pit stops and the overall presentation is as good as any race girl.
Koei’s first release on the GameCube packed with the epic battles its name has become synonymous with. Cleverly constructed bosses will have you swaying to avoid their assaults and the enemies are highly imaginative even including a jellyfish. Each playable character has an elemental power as their theme to be summoned as a magical assault in the battlefield, all very strikingly realised.
Koei’s first release on the GameCube packed with the epic battles its name has become synonymous with. Cleverly constructed bosses will have you swaying to avoid their assaults and the enemies are highly imaginative even including a jellyfish. Each playable character has an elemental power as their theme to be summoned as a magical assault in the battlefield, all very strikingly realised. Known in the West as Mystic Heroes.