A Bit Special
Here we have all the games in the A Bit Special Section.
Dreamcast
A Bit Special
A trial of Cool Boarders, plus interviews with Capcom chief and Atlus Maken X expert. VMU data for Kanipan, the ubiquitous present and introductions to Shenmue, Soul Calibur, Espionagents amongst others. Nice collectable for the Dreamcast devotee.
Dreamcast
A Bit Special
A tidy demo disk and collectable that came with the ‘Dori Maga’ or Dreamcast Magazine and includes demos of Mr. Driller, Zusar Vasar, Derby Tsuku and a movie of Jet Set Radio plus original Sega Game anime.
Nintendo DS
A Bit Special
A Japanese to English dictionary, great for those studying Japanese.
PS2
A Bit Special
Besides the baseball, table tennis, boxing and football goalkeeper games, the Eye Toy camera works its magic to get even non-gamers involved in air guitars, kung fu, cooking, yielding a chainsaw, drumming, popping bubbles… Full of innovation and bringing back the fun to gaming.
Miscellaneous Games
A Bit Special
Seven in one cart which features original titles including Boat Race, Mario Bros clone Roge Brer, Chack n Pop tribute Bomb, Warp Man look a like Aether, Penguin (which is like Nuts & Milk), Twinbee wanabee Van-1 and Conte Energy which is reminiscent of Lode Runner. So whilst we say original the games are not pirated, but are certainly based on existing ideas. Good value little pack.
Miscellaneous Games
A Bit Special
Jam packed with seven titles: Frog Prince, Bounce Ball (Pinball), Spar (Urban Champion), Cobra of Sky, Rescue of Kuck (Donkey Kong Jr.), Bounce (Mappy) and Surface Fire (Centipede). Frog Prince is a competent Mario Bros clone complete with pipes, venus fly traps and warp zones. Players even grab a flag in a run and jump at the end. Very impressive, but not too sure what Miyamoto san would make of it.
Miscellaneous Games
A Bit Special
Ladangel, Scoring, Tennis, Maze, Bandits, Mars Man and Space War. A great compilation of original games which test Nintendo’s definition of original.
PS2
A Bit Special
One of the first releases in Japan for the PS2, it is only recently the delights of Fantavision have blasted back into the limelight boosting its price on the second hand market. Long may Sony continue such experimental titles.
Nintendo DS
A Bit Special
Known in Japan as ‘Akachan wa Doko Kara Kuru no?’ or ‘Where do babies come from?’ Continues the loved up frantic stylus action of the first title innovating further to keep things as fresh as your breath on the in game dates. Starts by having to get past a sumo wrestler to reach the dream girl as you pass her on the escalator. Also involves negotiating a river full of crocs and even cleaning up a wound for your beloved. Thankfully keeps the slick, clubland style graphics of the prequel.
Sega Saturn
A Bit Special
This disk has four demos from Bomberman SS, Sakura Wars, Virtua On and Tengai Makyo. A nice curio for the dedicated Saturn conehead.
Nintendo DS
A Bit Special
A Club Nintendo title that could only be obtained in Japan by those holding sufficient points which should no doubt add to its collectability in years to come. Transforms your DS into a Game & Watch machine in which Nintendo first cut its handheld teeth complete with clock. Two titles are included this time: Octopus and Parachute to help while away any waiting lounge.
Sega Saturn
A Bit Special
Plenty of samples, demos and information to showcase the Saturns merits and releases with Series of Dreams, Telecom Town and the Sega Saturn Masterpiece Collection vying for the dedicated Saturn fans attention.
Sega Saturn
A Bit Special
Features a real mull of games including a razor sponsored breakout clone, a puzzle game and an adventure entitled Big Brother, adverts for Japanese products, interviews of the Virtua Fighter team and most interestingly of all a digital comic version of Virtua Fighter…
Wii
A Bit Special
A little bit of a different experience with the games main protagonist and hero Minon being able to alter the domino action world. Fingers crossed this can be as enjoyable as No One Can Stop Mr. Domino on the PSX. Eight stages to enjoy with a battle mode and two player play possible.
Playstation
A Bit Special
Very bold title that sets you up trying to become the next pop idol by creating a music video. There are some loopy loops such as ‘Cheap Bicycle’ and ‘Da! Da! Da!’ but its the madcap Tim Burton created in game persona’s that really take the biscuit.
Playstation
A Bit Special
Denki Groove is a funky techno chap lending his tunes to this deviously devilish mini game compilation. Players must complete tasks in the game which is like the more familiar Made in Wario and its ilk mini game series. However the games have a darker edge more in line with cult cracker Baito Hell on the PSP. A young lad must chop wood by a simple button press, but the old man helper will sneak on a pink bunny rabbit from time to time. Players must hurtle off in a race of chicken: the winner being the one who can stop closest to the cliff edge without flying off it. A Wolfenstein style avatar has plenty of sneaky glances left to right as he counts the folk strolling along the street. A real underground favourite in Japan and after a few minutes its easy to see why.
Nintendo DS
A Bit Special
The stunning solicitor series created by Capcom as players must go all out for the conviction. Credit to the Japanese game market which still pulls out its own genres every now and then. I mean few companies would be bold enough to test out such a title. Known in the West as Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney.
Wii
A Bit Special
Nine various games to ground you in the skills required to play the console to its full potential. Nintendo takes you by the hand through a Duck Shoot style blast, a round of ping pong, a rack of pool – mimicking the cue action, a race with a herd of cows, a spot of fishing and a game of air hockey amongst others. All good, clean fun and an excellent starter title.
Nintendo Hardware
A Bit Special
Also known as Wii Play, the bundle features nine various games to ground you in the skills required to play the console to its full potential. Nintendo takes you by the hand through a Duck Shoot style blast, a round of ping pong, a rack of pool – mimicking the cue action, a race with a herd of cows, a spot of fishing and a game of air hockey amongst others. All good, clean fun and an excellent starter title.
Dreamcast
A Bit Special
Email sender looking very pretty in pink for fans of Sanrio’s Kitty chan. Unfortunately the Dreamcast servers have long since ground to a halt, but this remains a nice curio for the DC completist.
Nintendo 64
A Bit Special
Long before Pokemon Go, N64 fans were using the Voice Recognition System to chat with Pikachu and enjoy a days fishing for Magikarp or planting in the garden. A great idea cleverly executed. Known as Pikachu Genki Dechuu in Japan.
Nintendo DS
A Bit Special
Set in a hammed up seventies kung fu movie, players have to exhibit their kanji (or Chinese character) prowess rather than any praying mantis forms. The stylus is used to write the hiragana reading of characters, the kanji of hiragana words or even identify the correct radical. So its definitely a study aid, but a very well executed one with plenty of style and tight character recognition.
Mega Drive
A Bit Special
Twenty party games all of a rather bizarre nature in this sequel to Tanto R. The mini games involve jumping over frogs, spotting the differences, catching rice balls as they fall on a kebab stick even a recall test where the silhouette of the young wife appeared last in the apartment window… A popular Sega title in Japan.
Sega Saturn
A Bit Special
Basically a fan disk to Zico whose brand of Brazilian football enthralled many and boosted his popularity in Japan into the stratosphere. The title translates as Zicos thinking football, though Genkis Portuguese isnt quite what it used to be. Plenty of footage of the original galactico with some top tips to hit the back on the onion bag.
Playstation
A Bit Special
Plenty of fun mini games make this a great after hours title with punk penguins Rocky and Hopper.
Nintendo DS
A Bit Special
Not a game as such but an electronic dictionary with writing recognition thanks to the DS stylus. The equivalent machine would cost significantly more than price of a DS and this cart making it a serious alternative to the Casio WordTank for the budding linguist. Includes Game and Watch titles that can be unlocked as rewards for your hard studies making this the perfect balance between work and play. Also features a kanji quiz such as the different characters for country names. And the writing recognition works well assisting in progressing studies as its simple to look up a kanji character. Both Japanese to English and English to Japanese modes. Great for those import gamers looking to attain the next level.
PS2
A Bit Special
Title translates as ‘Lump Spirits’. Play as a pile of rubbish that builds up as you roll around the screen. As your proportion grows so does your potential to swallow up people, animals, buildings… Converserly the gaming area seems to shrink. Shamefully over looked for a Western release. Clinically insane, but in a good way.
Playstation
A Bit Special
Nice Playstation curio coming with disk and cable that allows it to be linked to a Japanese mobile phone. Once hooked up, users can save their data from their phone or play around with a few new melodies on the console.
Playstation
A Bit Special
The title translates as ‘I can do it on my own’ and has players making various dishes that even Genki fancies being able to rustle up. Based on the NHK programme, the Japanese equivalent of the BBC.
Dreamcast
A Bit Special
Voice command led game in which an array of space critters can be bossed around before they start bossing the player. Experimental and great fun for the adventurous.