Shop
Here we have all the games in the Shop Section.
PSP
One on One Beat Em Up
The anime’s distinct and sometimes creepy look with lurchingly tall characters has carried over effortlessly and the whole production oozes the sort of vintage claret class you’d expect from the series. Two player tag battles are a joy with what look like extras from Spirited Away but the lightening gameplay gives little opportunity to admire the scenery.
PSP
One on One Beat Em Up
The animes distinct and sometimes creepy look with lurchingly tall characters has carried over effortlessly and the whole production oozes the sort of vintage claret class youd expect from the series. Two player tag battles are a joy with what look like extras from Spirited Away but the lightening gameplay gives little opportunity to admire the scenery.
PS2
RPG
A shift from the usual fisticuffs as players explore a Japanese town with a heady mix of traditional martial arts, high school students and talking lion teddy bears. Subtitled Hanatareshi Yabou.
PSP
Action
With a mighty cast of assailants, there’s certainly plenty to get your teeth and fists into in this off shoot of the chic, cel shaded combat extravaganza. More of a cutesy approach has been taken with the look and the action is firmly rooted in 2D scrolling fight fun making for some frantic action using the dash attack. The in game action has the feel of the anime having captured the essence excellently – a definite thumbs up.
PC Engine HU Card
Puzzle
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!
PS2
Simulation
Based on the breath taking anime with high school heroine’s Saya vampire slaying and incredible production values, this second part of two is perfectly playable without owning the first. Treats players to sections of incredibly detailed anime and at various injunctions you must choose a course of action with multiples routes and outcomes.
PC Engine HU Card
Shooter
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.
XBOX 360
RPG
Akira Toriyama once again uses his DragonBall drawing skills to sublime effect in working in tandem with some of the brawn behind the Final Fantasy series to bring us a Japanese flavoured action RPG with plenty of spiky hair and bush eyed creatures. The action is true to their long held design principles and there arent too many surprises along the way, but this adds to the warm, secure feeling of being in deep in the cosy RPG world. Tidy sub quests and completion lists for monsters and items add much to the overall quest.
Sega Saturn
RPG
Based on the anime this RPG utilises the license to good effect by having fully animated battle scenes. The overall look of the game is more nostalgic with nicely detailed sprites. Warrants the yellow label warning.
Super Famicom
Simulation
Genki would rather not be running around after the horses, chicken and sheep everyday in this farm management game. Still the prospect of golden eggs helped Genki out of bed at the break of dawn. Freedom to visit others in town. Miyamoto san would be proud. Highly original.
Gamecube
A Bit Special
Subtitled ‘A Wonderful Life’, Genki would rather not be running around after the horses, chicken and sheep everyday in this farm management game. Still the prospect of golden eggs helped Genki out of bed at the break of dawn. Freedom to visit others in town including the archaeologist, barmaid and little tree people (only after eating a special mushroom.) Miyamoto san would be proud. Highly original.
GameBoy Original
Action
Bomberman style action where players use carefully placed bombs to take down opponents and clear the stage. Care must be taken to not back yourself into a corner with a ticking bomb for company. The levels become more and more devious as progress is made, but never unfair. Known as Atomic Punk in America and Dynablaster in Europe.
Famicom Cart
Action
Known as Robo Warrior in the West, the Bomber King must get through the levels by dropping bombs to clear a path whilst taking down the array of enemies taking pot shots at your mecha suit. Good blend of tactics and action.
PC Engine HU Card
Action
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.
Famicom Cart
Action
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.
Super Famicom
Action
An inventive twist on the Bomberman World in the form of an action puzzler. The bombs move across the screen in formation and players must detonate them at the right time and target the right bomb in order to create a chain reaction and clear the stage. Quick thinking is a must.
PSP
Action
Bomberman has a charm that seems eternal, especially hard to beat in multiplayer. Handhelds are perfectly suited for the game as its not possible to keep a close eye on opponents adding much adrenalin as a tidy amount of TNT suddenly rolls past. Hudson has done a very fine conversion: not overcooking the processing power to compromise the tasty morsels of gaming heaven on offer. Instead a funky, fly Tokyo style gives the title new impetus.
PSP
Action
Not too sure how excessive amounts of TNT help ensure that colourful Bomberman Land is pieced back together again, but that is the challenge of the one player story mode. The excellent four player mode is possible with only one copy of the game though making for some devilishly delightful gameplay – one of the most engrossing multiplayer mash ups ever. Also included are the mini game attractions from the PS3 big brother making for a well-rounded package.
GameBoy Color
Action
Bomberman uses all his nous to clear the screen of enemies and whatever needs clearing to complete the mission such lumps of meat on the Neanderthal level. Tactical positioning, use of power ups and quick thinking are a must to stay alive. Subtitled Yami no Senshi.
Playstation
Action
Isometric take tried to drag the PC Engine success of Bomberman into the 32bit world, but the new improved graphics add little to gameplay in Genki’s humble opinion. A must for fans of the series though with highly amusing story mode.
Super Famicom
Puzzle
Genki has whittled away many an hour playing Bombuzal. Sadly not so many hours are on offer to whittle away, but it it one of those games that could prove not all hours pass at the same rate. The reassuring lift music may help, but the crux of the action involves detonating all bombs on screen. Action can be viewed from an isometric or overhead viewpoint to ensure the detonation doesn’t take out the player too or that the crumbling path that can only be crossed once is the right order to proceedings.
Merchandise
Figure
Full colour manga book of the school girl pig plus special cover and figure on stand. A great gift set for the manga fan in your life.
Mega Drive
Sports
Ten pin bowling very well represented with the screen split into three: the bottom half showing the progress of the ball against the skittles and to line it up, the top two halves show the remaining skittles and the players avatar. This adds a good bit of emotion to the sport and the set up works very well.
Sega Saturn
Quiz
A good test of reading skills for budding kanji students, this quiz game is introduced by a youthful Colonel Sanders lookalike. Answering is multiple choice.
Super Famicom
One on One Beat Em Up
Riding on the mighty sweep Street Fighter II unleashed on the 16Bit gaming world, Brass Numbers would have a good swing at Capcom’s cash cow. Telenet’s idy parallax scrolling is complemented by a few touches of its own in players being allowed to choose their next opponent and also being able to use their rewards earnt in bouts to boost their vital stats. Known as Doomsday Warrior in the West.
GameBoy Color
RPG
Very sweet graphical style to this little known off shot of the Brave Saga series with the look of the Mother series in its prime. Plenty of scrapes along the way, but the very friendly user interface makes combat enjoyable rather than a chore.
PS2
Rhythm
Refreshingly original title playing most like a rhythm action titles except this time players take the role of a conductor about the town. As in a rhythm action title such as Samba De Amigo, the backgrounds shift according to players performance so the conductor soon knows if they are hitting the right notes. Rather than simple button presses though, the degree of pressure applied is the important factor in keeping the orchestra together. Bravo indeed. Known as Mad Maestro in the West.
Playstation
Sports
British gamers will get their strawberries and cream in a twist over this Ocean developed tennis title. Solid polygon sprites battle it out for on-court supremacy.
Sega Saturn
Sports
Polygon based tennis title with some detailed textures and nice touches such as the players walking on and off for their drink of orange squash during the break. Not quite Virtua Tennis on the Saturn, but an impressive interpretation non the less.
Sega Saturn
Puzzle
Clear the screen of coloured blocks by detonating them in chains to reveal the picture behind capturing various cityscapes and world-famous locales. Tactical thinking is required to generate the right chains and clear the screen. Strangely compelling.