Video Game Search

showing 1 - 50 of 64 games

name	publisher(developer)	year	description
Super Mario Bros.	Nintendo	1985	Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published in 1985 by Nintendo for the Famicom in Japan and for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America. It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. and the first game in the Super Mario series. Following a US test market release for the NES, it was converted to international arcades on the Nintendo VS. System in early 1986. The NES version received a wide release in North America that year and in PAL regions in 1987. Players control Mario, or his brother Luigi in the multiplayer mode, to explore the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Toadstool from King Koopa (later named Bowser). They traverse side-scrolling stages while avoiding hazards such as enemies and pits with the aid of power-ups such as the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Starman. The game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka as "a grand culmination" of the Famicom team's three years of game mechanics and programming, drawing from their experiences working on Devil World and the side-scrollers Excitebike and Kung Fu to advance their previous work on platforming "athletic games" such as Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. The design of the first level, World 1-1, is a tutorial for platform gameplay. Super Mario Bros. is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time, and is particularly admired for its precise controls. It has been re-released on most Nintendo systems, and is one of the bestselling games of all time, with more than 58 million copies sold worldwide. It is credited alongside the NES as one of the key factors in reviving the video game industry after the 1983 crash, and helped popularize the side-scrolling platform game genre. Koji Kondo's soundtrack is one of the earliest and most popular in video games, making music a centerpiece of game design and has since been considered one of the best video game soundtracks of all time as a result. Mario has become prominent in popular culture, and Super Mario Bros. began a multimedia franchise including a long-running game series, an animated television series, a Japanese anime feature film, a live-action feature film and an animated feature film.***As with many of the Famicom Disk System launch titles, the Famicom Disk System version of Super Mario Bros. is exactly the same as the previously released cartridge version. A fantastic, huge and addicting platformer with excellent controls, as well as good graphics and music for its time. Some enhancements or extras for the FDS wouldn't have hurt though.
Nazo no Murasame-Jou	Nintendo	1986	Nazo no Murasamejou is an overhead action game with similar controls as [game=#9176]The Legend of Zelda[/game]. The gameplay is much more action-oriented though. The game features five levels, having you avoid or kill hundreds of ninjas and other enemies on your way through the castles and surrounding areas. You can slash enemies with your sword, throw shurikens and fireballs. There are also some extras like shoes, which give you the ability to walk faster or let you walk over water. Other extra powers make you invisible or destroy all enemies onscreen. The game is quite good with good controls and nice music and graphics for its time. However, the lack of puzzles and sometimes very difficult, if not to say unfair, situations make this game a bit less enjoyable than the avove mentioned [game=#9176]The Legend of Zelda[/game].
Super Mario Bros. 2	Nintendo	1986	The Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 is very similar to its predecessor. Besides some marginal graphical changes and the fact that Luigi controls a bit differently (higher jumps, but less control) there is nothing real new in this game. I guess the reason why it never made its way to the US or Europe (at least on the NES) is the overly high difficulty level which somehow reduced my interest from rescuing the princess from yet another castle.*Originally released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2, this game has previously made only brief cameo appearances in the Western Hemisphere. Now available on the Virtual Console in all of its original splendor, Mario fans will appreciate the familiar look and feel of the game, while finding that its updated game play creates an entirely new challenge. No longer content just to wear different-colored overalls, Mario and Luigi also possess different skill sets: Mario can stop quicker, while Luigi can jump higher. In addition to the classic enemies already known to fans worldwide, there are also Poison Mushrooms, backward Warp Zones, and the occasional wind gust (which can help or hinder your progress) to take into account. And if that's somehow not enough, expert players can go looking for the game's secret worlds. So get ready to put your Mario skills to the ultimate test, and save the Princess again. Just don't be surprised if she's in another castle.*The REAL Super Mario 2. The American Super Mario 2 is known as Super Mario USA in Japan... don't ask why. [cjlee001]
Namida no Soukoban Special	ASCII	1986	Namida no Soukoban Special is the Famicom Disk System port of the famous box moving game Soukoban initially developed by Thinking Rabbit for Japanese homecomputer systems and eventually even successfully brought to the west. The goal of each level is to push boxes around onto designated places marked by a dot. A simple and addicting concept. The Famicom version features many levels and a leveleditor. There are also hidden special items under boxes which might give you some extra abilities, like being allowed to "pull" a box, instead of just pushing them. Graphics are the worst part of the game. Very few colors (reminds of me old DOS games with 4-color CGA-graphics) and underwhelming presentation. Having already seen several versions, this doesn't get me really excited. It is however one of the best versions you could get in the mid-80s and being able to save your progress on disk is a definite plus. You can optionally switch to a zoomed-in view of the level, but that only results in headaches from the horrible scrolling and less overview in larger levels.
Koneko Monogatari: The Adventures of Chatran	Pony Canyon (Marionette)	1986	Koneko Monogatari is based on the movie "The Adventures of Chatran" (also known as "The Adventures of Milo and Otis" in the US). It is an average, slow-paced platform game with cute graphics aimed at children. Collect fruits for points and avoid all hostile animals - though not always hostile looking, and dying by being hit by a rain drop is also rather uncommon I think. The game consists of 24 stages, each stage representing one month of a year with a day and night stage each. As I mentioned the game's pace is kinda slow and unexciting, but not unplayable. Worst part is the music, which is really annoying in both the day and night stages.
Akumajō Dracula	Konami	1986	This is the first Castlevania game ever and it was perhaps the best-looking game for the Famicom/Famicom Disk System so far with great and varied background graphics and sprites. Music is also very good and memorable. Konami really understood early on how to program high quality games for that console. Playability is also quite good but there are a few issues. Most prominent one the fact that when you are hit by a monster you are pushed back quite a bit, which very often results in falling down platforms and to your death. In this Famicom Disk System version you can save your game's progress on disk, making it a bit easier than the US NES version, which was released several months later in 1987.***The Japanese title means 'Demon Castle Dracula'. [Jacquismo]
Moero TwinBee: Cinnamon Hakase o Sukue!	Konami	1986	With Moero TwinBee Konami released an original game for the Famicom, not based on an arcade version. The game is similar to its predecessor, but instead of only vertical-scrolling top-down levels you will also fly through a couple of horizontally scrolling levels. The game didn't change its extra weapons upgrade system. You shoot bells, which lets them change their color and thus upgrade your ship. The levels and enemies are again really crazy and cartoony. Some enemies are even everyday items like shoes. The game plays really well and does not slow down. The difficulty level is on the easy side, so beginners will have their fun with it.
Zanac A.I.	Pony Canyon (Compile)	1986	Zanac is an early Famicom/NES shooter from developer Compile, the team that would eventually program some of the best classic shmups ever. And already they show their skills with this game. It is highly playable with a "modern" extra weapon system and very fast, fluent graphics that don't flicker at all. Only the background graphics are the typical nondescript shapes that many old shooters have. The music is also well done. I dare say that at the time of its release this was the best vertical scrolling shoot'em up game for the Famicom (Disk System) so far.
Gall Force: Eternal Story	HAL Laboratory	1986	Gall Force: Eternal Story is based on the anime movie of the same name. Since it is a straightforward early Famicom Disk System vertical scrolling shoot'em up game there is not much to be expected from the story however. Technically the game is very well done. Many sprites, big boss sprites and no sprite flicker at all. The game runs very smoothly. On the other hand your own ship is rather large and clumsy. Although you can take multiple hits until you loose a life it is extremely hard to avoid being hit, because the enemies and their shots appear and move very fast. Also the screen is often too overloaded with background graphics. You can barely make out projectiles. After each level you rescue one of your comrades which opens up a special power-up like more firepower, armor oder side-shots. All in all a nice game but not amongst the best games of its kind.
Adian no Tsue	Sunsoft (Sunsoft;Asmik)	1986	At first glance you might think that Adian no Tsue is a [game=#9176]The Legend of Zelda[/game]-clone. But it only takes the look of Zelda dungeons and mixes it with mathematical problems you have to solve to open doors. You also have to kill or avoid enemies in the rooms. There is also a complete second game on the disk where you are a long-distance runner who runs through Japan and in order to progress further you have to once again solve mathematical calculations. Both games are ultimately boring. The Zelda-style game adds frustrating monster fights to the simple mathematical tasks. You can eventually buy some extra items but this doesn't add much depth. The best about this game is the manual, which comes with a 150+ pages manga. If the developers only had put as much effort into the game as they did with the package and manual...
Nazo no Kabe: Block Kuzushi	Konami	1986	"Nazo no Kabe: Block Kuzushi" is Konami's answer to Taito's [game=#7541]Arkanoid[/game]. The gameplay is - as with most Breakout clones - very similar. All the obvious bonuses like multi balls, a longer paddle, rockets and so on are included. There are even a few mini bosses. The game features 44 levels. The controls are good and the first levels are fun. But I think that changes in the second half of the game. Konami build lots of non-destructible objects inside the levels, often too near in front of the players paddle, resulting in many cheap deaths while you are desperately trying to hit the last few blocks. At least you can save your progress on disk.
Ultraman: Kaijuu Teikoku no Gyakushuu	Bandai	1987	"Ultraman: Kaijuu Teikoku no Gyakushuu" is the first Ultraman videogame. First task in every level is to build up your power bar via collecting energy balls. So you are running and shooting enemies and try to find and collect the energy balls. Once the bar is complete you are ready to transform into Ultraman and challenge the end boss of each level in hand to hand combat. The game is really average. While the platform/shooting parts are playable the boss fights suffer from bad controls. Each level has different graphics but plays very similar (except for two levels which are pure horizontal-scrolling shooting parts) and the graphics are not very detailed.
Super Lode Runner	Irem (Tamtex)	1987	After the huge success of Lode Runner on old homecomputer systems and eventually console systems, Irem produced several arcade Lode Runner games. From the arcade games they selected a few levels and ported them to the Famicom Disk System under the name "Super Lode Runner", making it the third Lode Runner game for a Nintendo system. I really wonder who wanted to play another Lode Runner game? Yes it is still enjoyable if you are a Lode Runner addict, and I thought that the first few levels are easier than in the first two Hudson Soft NES versions, which is good. But with the exception of a two-player cooperative mode there is nothing new or fresh about this game. Graphics were never a strong point in Lode Runner games, but I wished it had looked at least a little bit better than the 1984/1985 NES Lode Runner games from Hudson Soft, which sadly it doesn't.
Tobidase Daisakusen	Square	1987	"Tobidase Daisakusen" (later released in the US as "3D World Runner on cartridge) looks suspiciously like a [game=#192]Space Harrier[/game] clone, but for the most of the time it is not. First of all you are running instead of flying and gameplay is more about jumping over chasms and avoiding obstacles and monsters. Only during the boss battles it is the typical flying and shooting gameplay. The game works well for what it wants to be. The graphics are nice and fast and the controls are ok.**SQF-TDS Tobidase Daisakusen published 1987-03-12 by DOG (Square) in Japan. NES-WO-USA 3-D World Runner published 1987-09 on cartridge by Acclaim in the USA (See the NES entry). Rarity C- 1 player only. Seemingly inspired by [game=Space+Harrier]Space Harrier[/game]. But while Space Harrier was a 3rd person view rail shooter, this is sort of a 3rd person view run-and-jump platform game. Jumping for specific distances is your main required skill, but dodging left and right is also important. Shooting is mainly for defeating bosses but other minor enemies can be eliminated also. The game constantly scrolls you forward and you can only slightly speed up or slow down; stopping requires a collision with a solid object, preferably one that is not lethal. You will need to dodge and or jump enemies, solid columns, flaming columns, poison mushrooms, and canyons. There are springs to aid in jumping, stars to collect for points, special items, hidden items, and warp balloons. Hearts are rare and give extra lives. Rockets enable shooting; an ability you lose if you get hit. Mushrooms are deadly. Atoms make you invincible for a time. Clocks add extra time (did I mention the time limit?); which will be required for some of the levels. A potion gives you a 1 hip point orange force field, giving you a total of 2 HP :) Grabbing another potion will remove your existing field. The vast majority of special items are hidden. Stars are just for points and are laid out horizontally, vertically, and surrounded by hazards to make them more challenging. Precise speed and jump control are necessary to collect ever star. Getting stars is not required. There are secret stages containing only stars and items (grab the warp balloon). Each level is divided into 4 sections (checkpoints basically) and there is a boss at the end of each level. Inexplicably, you can fly only during boss fights, which seem to be directly taken from [game=query]Space Harrier[/game] more so than the rest of the game. Beat the game to learn about Hard Mode. Beat the game in Hard Mode and...? Don a pair of Red/Blue 3D glasses and hit the select key to get and added effect of depth. Music is by Nobuo Uematsu who would later compose for the Final Fantasy games. [spoiler=Scoring;Close scoring][list][code][]Atoms 500† []Junior Jumpers 500† []Super Jumpers 500† []Missiles 500† []Potions 500† []Clams 200 []Dogs 200 []Hands 200 []Robots 200 []Serpentbeasts 200 []Spinners 200 []TVs 200 []Vapor Clouds 200 []Meanies 100 []Willies 100 [*]Stars 50 †The 1st one doesn't score any points [/code][/list][/spoiler] Spoilers:[spoiler=Hidden Items;Hidden Items]Sometimes their are special items in the special stages, but most of them are hidden in columns. Simply collide with a column to dislodge the item. Note that hitting a column on the far edge of a canyon and surviving can be tricky.[/spoiler][spoiler=Continue;Continue]When you lose, press ↓+A[/spoiler][spoiler=Hard Mode;Hard Mode]Before the game begins, press B, B, B, B, ↖+Start[/spoiler] [Zerothis]
Chitei Tairiku Orudora	Sunsoft (Asmik)	1987	"Chisoko Tairiku Orurdora" is the third and last game in Sunsoft's math edutainment series for the Famicom Disk System. As before this game has two game modes. The first one is a badly playable and looking platform game. You can throw bombs at enemies and when you hit them you have to solve a mathematical problem to finally kill it. The second mode is very similar the other games. You are on a route through Europe this time with your math skills being tested. Once again it features a full sized manga and manual in the box. But thats about the only positive thing about this product.
Otocky	ASCII (Sedic)	1987	[media=youtube]2w2vFLu6YWc[/media]***Otocky is a very innovative game and not your standard horizontal scrolling shoot' em up game. You shoot bubbles to kill monsters and more importantly collect musical notes to finish a level. The special thing about the game is its music. Every time you fire it adds a tone to the background music. Having you firing around creates very impressive music that somehow manages to always fit with the existing background music. The graphics have a very cartoonish look, similar to [game=#1757]Fantasy Zone[/game], but are not as detailed. It is hard to rate the game. As a shoot' em up it didn't impress me very much, but the creative use of music makes this game an unforgettable piece of art.
Super Boy Allan	Sunsoft (Asmik)	1987	"Super Boy Allan" is the second game in Sunsoft's math edutainment series for the Famicom Disk System. The concept is very similar to the first game, [game=#178910]Adian no Tsue[/game]. You have the choice between two game modes. The first mode is a top-down view game where you have to push blocks and evade monsters. Looks like [game=#9176]The Legend of Zelda[/game] but doesn't play like it. The second mode is very similar to the second mode of [game=#178910]Adian no Tsue[/game], only that this time you are traveling through the USA and its all about fractions. Still a very boring product, but at least it features a huge manual with complete manga again.
Dirty Pair: Project Eden	Bandai	1987	A rather annoying action game based on a well-known anime sci-fi series. The game consists of four levels. Level 1 and 3 are side-scrolling jump&shoot levels, which don't look too bad, but have too many unfair passages. In Level 2 and 4 you are in a huge maze-like building, in which you have to find and collect all disks to finish it. There are also card keys which open otherwise locked doors. These levels are quite bad. I had real trouble to simply open up doors. There are lots of different kind of doors and each opens up differently. Some only when you have a key, some you have to approach and jump against at a certain angle to open it and so on. I felt totally stupid doing this. Jumping stupidly against doors to open it, while enemies respawned much too rapidly in the room, made me really really angry. Another cool anime license wasted.
Green Beret	Konami	1987	Up for a little guerilla warfare? You asked for it. You're behind enemy lines, armed with only a knife and a mission: to free dozens of POWs hidden in an isolated, well-armored camp. If you're good, you'll pick off the heavily-armed enemy guerillas, one by one, and grab their bazookas and hand grenades. If you're great, you'll turn their weapons against them, to blow away a pack of attack dogs, a fleet of choppers, and a whole battalion of guards. But make one mistake, and it's all over. For you, our POWs... the future of the Free World!***Konami did a pretty good job with this arcade port. Lots of variety in background graphics and good music. Gameplay is simple but the controls work well and there is not much more needed for this type of game. Only negative thing about it are the three or four same attack patterns from standard enemies. The graphics of these enemies change each level, but the attack patterns stay always the same.
Fuuun Shourinken	Jaleco	1987	Except for a very few C64 titles like [game=#36503]International Karate[/game], I really don't like 8-bit 1vs1 fighting games very much. Fuuun Shourinken is one of those mediocre not really well playable fighting games. Hit detection is strange, graphics are average and if you are unlucky you are dead in about 5 seconds. Well in 1987 there weren't much similar titles, so genre fans might have had some fun with it.
Hao-Kun no Fushigi na Tabi	Square (Carry Lab)	1987	I don't like this platform game very much. The controls are ok, but the graphics and music are not really good and the game is rather monotonous. You have to retrieve several objects from six castles. The castles itself are maze-like platform levels with doors, mini-bosses which drop keys, breakable blocks etc. Between the castles are linear outdoor levels. The game has only a couple of standard enemies which repeat and repeat (except the mini-bosses, which at least change in each castle). The game was eventually released in the US on cartridge as "[game=#8045]Mystery Quest[/game]" a year later.
Kinnikuman: Kinnikusei Oui Soudatsusen	Bandai	1987	The second Kinnikuman game for the Famicom. Instead of a bad wrestling game it has become a bad beat'em up game with lots of jumping involved. Very limited animations and overall bad graphics and stiff controls make this game a failure and not enjoyable at all. Only interesting thing is that you can choose between different characters for certain situations. For example some bosses are easier to beat with a certain character. All in all the game is a prime example why Bandai once had a rather bad reputation for releasing lots of sub-average quality games to anime licenses.
Section Z	Capcom	1987	"Section Z" is a non-linear shoot'em up game. After most levels (sections) you have the choice which section you want to do next. Sometimes you have to destroy generators in certain sections to open up warps to further sections. The player can switch between shooting to the right and to the left; a method Capcom would also use for the better known [game=#185]Side Arms: Hyper Dyne[/game] and [game=#72]Forgotten Worlds[/game]. Graphics and playability are generally ok and the game always runs smoothly. But with a total of 60 sections many levels have a repetitive feel to it. I'd prefer they would have created 5 unique and diverse levels instead of 60 rather similar ones.
Meikyuu Jiin Dababa	Konami	1987	Another good Konami game. This one however is quite odd and rather unkown, as "Meikyuu Jiin Dababa" was only released in Japan. The game is special, because the character and all the enemies are hopping from one square grid to the next instead of walking around normally. In each area you have to uncover tiles with seals to open up a door to the next area. Of course enemies want to prevent you from doing so. You can kill them with several different type of weapons like fireballs or monk beads. Bosses are fought in a sideview perspective in contrast to the top-down view of the normal levels. Not one of Konami's masterpieces, but a nice game nonetheless. Too bad I wasn't able to finish the game because the last level wouldn't load correctly.
Jikai Shounen Mettomag	Square (Thinking Rabbit)	1987	With "Jikai Shounen Mettomag", Thinking Rabbit (the original developer of the puzzle classic [url=http://www.uvlist.net/groups/info/soukoban]Sōkoban[/url]) made another clever puzzle title with a fresh concept. You control a boy or girl (selecting the girl actually changes the look of many items and monsters - everything goes into cutesy mode) and your task is to collect all polarity orbs in each level. Touching one of the orbs gives your character a north or south polarity. What makes it hard is that there are also polarity squares throughout the levels and you can only pass them with the correct polarity. So it is very important in which order you collect the orbs or you will get stuck. And you will get stuck often. Since you don't have a complete overview when starting a new level it is hard to figure out the correct way beforehand. So it is much trial and error at first. This is the one negative point (besides rather simple graphics and music/sfx). There are 100 levels and of course the later ones will become pretty difficult. The game is not something I would spent lots of hours with nowadays, but I think that puzzle fans, who aren't put off by some platform game elements and who want play something different, will have a real good time with it.
Almana no Kiseki	Konami	1987	[media=youtube]Xbe_VCYrWJY[/media]***In "Almana no Kiseki" you control an "Indiana Jones" look-a-like on a quest to retrieve a stolen magical stone to peaceful village people. You main tool in this game is a grappling hook to reach higher platforms. And thats pretty much necessary because the hero is a lousy jumper, which is my main complaint about this game. The controls are not that good and I expected a little bit better from a Konami game. Jumping on moving platforms and using the grappling hook can be quite difficult to achieve. Graphics and music are still quite good for its time though and it is somehow enjoyable if you can overcome the difficult controls.
Super Lode Runner II	Irem (Tamtex)	1987	I am pretty disappointed by "Super Lode Runner II". It was released only a couple of months after the first one and counting the two Hudson Soft Lode Runner games it was already the fourth Lode Runner game for the Famicom. "Super Lode Runner II" is basically the same game as "Super Lode Runner" just with different and even more (much more actually) difficult levels and a level editor.
Transformers: The Headmasters	Takara	1987	Takara's second Transformers game for the Famicom and an improvement compared to the utterly bad [url=http://www.uvlist.net/game-155967-Transformers+Convoy+no+Nazo]Transformers: Convoy no Nazo[/url]. This game is based on the Japanese-only anime series "Transformers: The Headmasters". Each of the levels is divided into a vehicle part where you drive or fly from left to right and a robot part which has you fly around in rooms. It's important to upgrade your autobot and find other autobot friends which you can freely choose to control afterwards. While still being an below average game, once fully upgraded the game becomes more playable. You can freely select each level you want to start in. Only the last level - which only consists of a boss fight - is locked until you have rescued all your fellow autobots.
Topple Zip	Bothtec	1987	At first I thought "Topple Zip" would be some sort of [url=http://www.uvlist.net/game-157332-TwinBee]TwinBee[/url] clone, but it's not a pure shooter. The game is about a racing event and you fly with your "ship" against other opponents. You can pick up weapons and shoot them down. From time to time you can enter a warp window to teleport to another stage. What you actually have to do to finally win the game I couldn't find out. The quality of the game is rather low. Flickering sprites, bad controls, sub-par music. It doesn't take half a minute that you feel that this game is a fail. Well from what I have seen the original MSX version is pretty bad as well. So bad that I wonder why they decided to bring this game out for the Famicom as well.
Falsion	Konami	1987	Falsion is a Sci-Fi 3rd person shooting game in best "Afterburner" or "Space Harrier" tradition. Technically well done with very good music. It's just that I personally find these kind of shooters not really as interesting or good as normal horizontal or vertical scrolling shmups. It's a bit too hectic and confusing. The game features a special 3D mode for the Famicom 3D glasses.
Youkai Yashiki	Irem	1987	"Youkai Yashiki" is a modified port of an older MSX game from Casio. There are 5 stages. In all stages you have to find five symbols which opens up the way to a boss fight. Well, the game is your typical Japanese platform game of that time. The levels are not straightforward, but have a very complicated layout with rather confusing warp zones. Sometimes you can only progress when you stumble about hidden ladders; some seemingly deadly pits are entries to bonus rooms and so on. Enemies are eliminated by shooting at them with a flashlight. Playability is average as are the graphics. All in all pretty unimpressive, but there are worse games.***[media=youtube]fwdDU0_VW5E[/media]
Bubble Bobble	Taito	1987	Most conversions of "Bubble Bobble" are actually well done, and the Famicom Disk System version is no exception in this regard. Despite a few scenes with typical sprite flickering it is very enjoyable and well playable. Playing it with two players even adds to the fun and makes some levels much easier.
Kick Challenger - Air Foot: Yasai no Kuni no Ashi Senshi	VAP	1987	In "Kick Challenger - Air Foot" you control one of the most weird protagonists I have ever encountered in a videogame. A tomato on huge feet, which controls very strangely. At least you can use your feet to kick and kill the numerous insect-type enemies. In each upward-scrolling level you have to find your way to the end of the level facing an end boss. Later levels are a bit complicated in layout due to many teleporters not obviously destructible walls, which annoyed me quite a lot. So in the end this game is more weird than anything else. Surely not a "good" game mostly due to the unorthodox control scheme.
Gun.Smoke	Capcom	1988	"Gun.Smoke" is a playable Commando-style run and gun game in a western setting. You play a lonesome gunslinger on his mission to stop a gang of bandits of terrorizing peaceful villagers. Graphics, sound and are decent. The game is relatively easy compared to other games of that era and controls are fine. The game has a small shopping feature where you can upgrade your standard weapon with money from money bags you collect on the way. "Strangest" gameplay element is the exclusively diagonal shooting from the hero, but after you get used to it it works well enough.
Replicart	Taito	1988	"Replicart" is a snake game variant with 100 levels, a crude story line and even some boss battles after every 10 levels. Interesting to see such a simple concept being pimped into a "full" game, but the game lacks playability and tends to be much too hard. The package of the game is quite interesting though. The game came in a very unusual plastic zip lock.
TwinBee	Konami	1988	The Twinbee Famicom Disk System version could only be obtained via the Disk Writer method where you bought an empty disk and could copy a game for a small fee at certain copy stations. A regular version with box and manual was never available. The game of course is identical to the Famicom version which appeared two years earlier. Twinbee is a colorful and well playable vertical scrolling shoot'em up game. Technically a few steps below the arcade version but still a well done conversion. Gameplay reminds a bit of Xevious with switching between shooting airborne enemies and bombing ground targets, but TwinBee looks and sounds better and is more varied. Power ups are gained by finding and collecting bells in clouds after shooting them until they change to a certain desired color. The five implemented stages are rather short. Only the last two levels are relatively difficult. Beginners will like the easy first half of the game.
Wardner no Mori	Taito	1988
Donkey Kong	Nintendo (Intelligent Systems)	1988	Donkey Kong has kidnapped Pauline, and it is up to Mario, the fearless carpenter, to come to her rescue. Throwing fate to the wind, Mario tries desperately to climb the labyrinth of structural beams from the top of which Donkey Kong taunts him. Help our hero ascend the metal structure by dodging an assortment of fireballs, steel beams, and exploding barrels the angry ape hurls at him. Prepare yourself for a never-ending adventure as Donkey Kong takes Pauline away to the next level every time Mario gets to the top. Based on the arcade game of the same name, this classic will keep hardcore and casual gamers entertained for hours.***The "Donkey Kong" Famicom Disk System version could only be obtained via the Disk Writer method where you bought an empty disk and could copy a game for a small fee at certain copy stations. A regular version with box and manual was never available. You could order an extra foldout manual though. The game of course is identical to the Famicom version which appeared five years earlier in 1983. I think it lost a bit of its appeal over the time and the only reason to get it in 1988 was the lower price of Disk Writer games. Still playable but really short and there were many much better games around then.
The Goonies	Konami	1988	[media=youtube]9zhXM2Bsy2E[/media]***The Goonies is a maze-like platform game based on the movie of same name. Your task is to find and rescue all your friends, who are behind closed doors which have to be opened with bombs that can be found from killed enemies. You also have to find key parts, which are also behind said doors. The game's difficulty level is low. Once you know your way through the rather small mazes the game offers not much challenge. The Famicom Disk System version was released over two years after the initial Famicom cartridge version and could only be obtained via Famicom Disk Writer kiosks for a low price. While the game was pretty good for 1986 standards, many more and better games had been released since then making it a rather unimpressive but still well playable game.
Kamen Rider Black: Taiketsu Shadow Moon	Bandai (Human)	1988	After the unpleasant [url=http://www.uvlist.net/game-172434-Kamen+Rider+Club+Gekitotsu+Shocker+Land]Kamen Rider Club: Gekitotsu Shocker Land[/url] I didn't expect much from the second Kamen Rider game for the Nintendo. Well, Kamen Rider Black turned out to be even worse. Below average graphics and sound and a very very frusrtrating and unintuitive control scheme. It seems they put in quite a lot of enemies known from the TV show, but the levels are boringly designed. Some stages you drive with your motiorbike - even in an underwater stage. I don't know if this is in the show as well, but it feels silly and weird. End of level boss fights are seen from a zoomed in perspective with bigger character sprites. In contrast to the first Kamen Rider game this is completely linear and has no distracting RPG elements.
Bio-Miracle Bokutte Upa	Konami	1988	Very cute and well playable platform game. A baby as protagonist and a rattle as main weapon... thats unusual but it works. The game consists of seven worlds each divided into three stages with varied and cute graphics. Also some good ideas like underwater diving stages or a stage where the level is turned upside down.***BIO MIRACLE BOKUTTE UPA is an action game released in 1988, but it was never available outside of Japan. Players take on the role of baby Upa, a prince of the Akuyo kingdom. Prince Upa must take on an adventure spanning seven different worlds in order to rescue the kingdom from the dangerous demon Zai. Upa must defeat the enemies he meets along the way by inflating them. Upa can then use these floating enemies to his advantage by bouncing off of or riding on top of them. The prince must also avoid deadly thorns and pits while keeping an eye out for helpful items such as milk (to restore health) and bells (for temporary invincibility) if he hopes to succeed. If you're looking for a cute and solid platformer with a hero unlike those in most other games, then look no further than BIO MIRACLE BOKUTTE UPA.
Final Commando: Akai Yousai	Konami	1988	Pretty straightforward and well playable shooter game similar to overhead "run and gun" games, just that you are driving a jeep instead of running around on foot. The Famicom Disk System version is a bit different to the US cartridge version. One level is missing, and the levels are strictly vertically scrolling, thus also making in some changes in level design. A rare case that the Japanese version feels actually to be the inferior version. The good playability is still there however and the except for the name on the title screen the game is completely in English as well.*[media=youtube]6VLnwgbgCbE[/media]*Infrared satellites soaring miles above Earth have spotted dozens of American prisoners of war still trapped on enemy soil. Missing for years but never forgotten, these men must be brought home. But America is in no position to risk an all-out invasion that could prompt retaliation. Instead, the only possible hope for their freedom is a small scale commando raid - code name JACKAL.
Fire Rock	Use (System Sacom)	1988
Moonball Magic	Square (System Sacom)	1988
Donkey Kong Jr.	Nintendo	1988	Based on the popular arcade game, Donkey Kong Jr. is the sequel to the immensely successful Donkey Kong. Play as Donkey Kong's son, Junior, and rescue your dad who has been kidnapped and imprisoned in a cage by Mario. Use your jumping and climbing abilities to clamber up vines and chains, gather vital fruit and keys, and open the cage to free your father. Make sure you avoid the pesky birds, nasty electric sparks, and creepy chompers! Four different worlds filled with numerous climbing and jumping puzzles await you in this timeless classic.***The "Donkey Kong Jr." Famicom Disk System version could only be obtained via the Disk Writer method where you bought an empty disk and could copy a game for a small fee at certain copy stations. A regular version with box and manual was never available. You could order an extra foldout manual though. The game of course is identical to the Famicom version which appeared five years earlier in 1983. I think it lost a bit of its appeal over the time and the only reason to get it in 1988 was the lower price of Disk Writer games. Still playable but really short and there were many much better games around then.
Karate Champ	Data East (SAS Sakata)	1988	Nearly two years after the cartridge NES version of Karate Champ was released in the US, the game made it to Japan for the Famicom Disk System. First it is strange that this was so long a US only release and even more strange that they eventually decided to bring this bad fighting game to Japan. The controls and especially the hit detection are rather bad. It felt to me that it is pure luck whether you hit your opponent or not. The game plays different (in a negative sense) than the arcade version. The background graphics have a mixed quality, the animations are unspectacular. On the positive side I could mention the little speech samples when a fight begins. Otherwise I see no real good points in this overall disappointing game. And two years later this impression must have been even more prevalent.
Bakutoushi Patton-Kun	Soft Pro	1988
BurgerTime	Data East (SAS Sakata)	1988	As Chef Peter Pepper, you must fend off the Food Foes while making perfect burgers! Use pinches of pepper to stun Mr. Hot Dog, Mr. Egg and Mr. Pickle, or lure them onto or under burger buns, lettuce, cheese or tomatoes to escape their clutches! Making perfect burgers gets progressively tougher through the six screens of BurgerTime!
Pachicom	Toemiland;Toshiba EMI (Shouei System)	1988
Yuu Maze	Taito (Daiei Seisakusho)	1988

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