Video Game Search

showing 19 games

name	publisher(developer)	year	description
Space Hunter	Kemco	1986	Space Hunter is an action game by Kemco with a similar setting and protagonist as [game=#8012]Metroid[/game]. You freely visit a couple of planets with the goal to kill the boss enemy. Each planet consists of many rooms with a maze-like structure. With your jetpack you fly through the non-scrolling screens and kill monsters mostly by using bombs. Other extra weapons and items can be found in little dungeons. When you enter a dungeon the screen switches to a top-down view and after killing all the monsters in the mini-dungeon you are awarded with a hint or a special item. Bosses can only be killed by special items which are often found on different planet so you have to constantly switch between them. Once a boss is beaten the planet explodes and after beating all planets a hidden last planet appears which houses the final boss enemy. Slain enemies leave power ups for your extra weapons or refreshing your health meter. Graphics are average, playability is soso. The music is quite nice, but in the end its too short and there are only two tunes in the whole game. What I disliked most is the search for the necessary extra weapons. Often they are too well hidden behind invisible doors. And killing monsters is really frustrating with your standard bomb.
Robo Warrior	Hudson Soft;Jaleco USA;Jaleco (Hudson Soft)	1987	[103]* [49]* [62]* [33]You're Zed, half man, half cyborg. The one-man battalion with a human heart and a computer's brain. Can you blast your way alone through 27 battle zones to liberate the desperate people of the planet Altile from the evil invader Xur? Xur has seized the weather control station; it's bitter cold, and the people have fled underground. He knows you've landed. No turning back. You must recover an arsenal of 12 different weapons and 6 powers hidden on Altile. Megaton bombs, life vests, hyper missiles, super boots, cross-fires, super bombs, energy capsules, life pods, power balls... Master each to save yourself from a continuing barrage of 20 deadly enemies. Wisps, Wanes, Tracers, Strinkers, Skraugs, the Globula, Gholem, Viripides... They're mean, they're ugly, and they're after you. Flying. Dive-bombing. Writhing. Grabbing. Find the keys, or you're blocked in a battle zone forever. Find the hidden chalice and be saved from eternal doom. Hit the switch. This is war! [52]* [37]***"Robo Warrior" (or "Bomber King" in Japan") is a kind of spin-off to Hudson's earlier "Bomber-Man" game. It enhances the gameplay by various elements and it is a mixture of the first solo-only Bomberman gameplay and Action-Adventure type game. The premise is simple. Walk from left to right, find the hidden key at the end of the level which opens the exit door. However, while the game plays rather well there are some annoying typical old-school gameplay elements in place. First a super-harsh time-limit. Your energy goes constantly down except you find hidden energy/battery symbols. Many bombable blocks are hidden as normal non-destroyable blocks. Some stages loop endlessly unless you find a certain item etc. Virtually necessary extra items are often too well hidden. Many secrets are not necessarily bad for a game, but only when they are more or less optional, not when they become essential and when your constant low energy level makes you fear to explore the levels slowly. Could have been really good with a fairer difficulty level. Graphically its simple but ok. Not many different graphical layouts and quite a lot of color-swapping. The music is catchy enough.
Ultima: Exodus	FCI;Pony Canyon (Origin)	1987	This is the ultimate role playing fantasy game. You put together a team of any four character - assume their identities and powers - to conquer the evil Exodus who has created havoc in Britannia. Hostile forests, high mountains, and dangerous oceans all stand in your way as you destroy monsters, search for gold, find clues, and explore dungeons to discover the hiding place of Exodus. -5 year lithium battery saves score and play position -Exciting animated graphics -Full sound effects -Multi-character interplay -100 hours of game time For harder challenges, you can change teams or create your own characters. Memory can score and save three games individually.***Well, this is a good port of the third Ultima game. Looks brighter and friendlier than the computer versions, but has the same depths in gameplay. On the other hand I think that Ultima became really good with the fourth game. The third one is a bit on slow side without the great story and virtue topic of the later games. Dungeons look all the same and are pretty complicated. Fights take a bit too long, because you have to move each character on a mini battle map and it's tedious after a while. In the end its a game that has more depths like Dragon Quest style games, but the extra elements are also not really fun to play with today.
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road	K Amusement Leasing;SNK (Micronics)	1988	"Ikari Warriors II" is just as badly playable as its predecessor with stiff controls being the biggest problem. The levels are just much shorter, which is a big plus in this case. Graphics are a mixed bag. Looks ok on still screenshots and the sprites are bigger than before, but the sprites are not well animated and the color scheme of the background graphics is strangely monotonous. The story wins a 'plain stupid' award with the heroes being transported into the far future to rescue Earth from aliens. Well, doesn't matter anyway.*When we last saw Paul and Vince, they had saved the Colonel and were about to head for home in a special plane given to them by the General. But then, while in flight over the ocean, the sky suddenly blackens - the ocean begins to churn - and the plane goes spinning! A booming voice fills the cockpit: "Hear me, Warriors! Zang Zip, the War Dog, has enslaved the people of Earth. Only you can save us from his grip of evil!" Caught in a time warp, hurled thousands of years into the future, Paul and Vince know they have no choice but to meet this impossible challenge head-on. After all, they are professionals... they are the Ikari Warriors!*1 player or 2 players simultaneous cooperative. 怒 (Ikari) means Anger [Zerothis]
Crystal Mines	Color Dreams	1989	You will be wonderfully surprised once you take over the controls for this hi-tech robot. Endless levels of cleverly designed worlds stimulate even the most demanding players! Your object is to mine the valuable "Starla" crystals by learning to use the ingenious devices in the mines. You can blast your enemies with energy balls and explosions or crush them by setting off avalanches. But watch out for unexplained chain explosions, for they can easily blow your robot to bits! After meeting the quota of crystals, another whole new world awaits your challenge. Only by discovering new strategies and adapting to the ever-shifting mines can the player overcome this dynamic puzzle.* [52]* [37]***Reviewed as "Crystal Games". [36]
Space Harrier	Takara (Whiteboard)	1989	Our hero, a seasoned veteran of many spacewars is on the scene again. This time to save the DRAGON land which is occupied by barbaric and evil creatures and controlled by supernatural phenomena.
Monster Party	Bandai (Human)	1989	A sidescrolling action adventure 'parody horror' game. A young boy, Mark, returns from a ball game and meets a gargoyle alien named Bert. Bert chose Mark to help him out, so he took Mark to his own world and 'fused' with Mark's body. Now, Mark, with the trusty power of his baseball bat (which can be used to hit projectiles, sending them back at the enemy) and the ability to turn into the flying laser-firing Bert for a short time from taking a special pill, must go through eight weird, colorful levels (the first level gets freaky halfway through, with happy faces turning into bloody skulls and creepy faces), and over 20 bosses ranging from just plain silly (like a potted plant that says 'Hello Baby', a bouncing piece of fried shrimp, and a giant kitten) to the really eldritch (a bunch of weird faces, the Grim Reaper, and the final eyeball boss). What's even stranger about the game is its freaky and slightly disturbing (and a little gory) ending, and the fact that this Japanese game didn't come out in Japan. [riki]
Ultima: Quest of the Avatar	FCI;Pony Canyon (Infinity;Atelier Double)	1989	The ruthless Triad of Evil has been vanquished and peace now reigns in the land. But without the threat of danger the people have become corrupt. Darkness dwells in their hearts and minds. The countryside is plagued by dragons, trolls, and long-dead wizards. Only an Avatar, a shining example of heroism, can destroy the monsters and conquer the internal wickedness with his mastery of magic and weapons. Become the Avatar! Save Britannia! And master the challenges of the ultimate quest--the search for good within yourself.
Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus	Bandai (Advance Communication Company)	1990	omething was terribly wrong in the distant man-made Spondylus Solar System. One by one the planets' central life support computers had been infected with a life-threatening virus while the planet surfaces had been overrun with giant computerized dinosaurs known as Robosaurs. Under attack in his laboratory on Alpha Planet, Professor Proteus, the mastermind of the Spondylus System and founder of the Robosaur project suddenly realized that this deadly sabotage could only be the work of his former partner, the deranged Dr. Brainius. Years earlier, the doctor had fled Alpha Planet after Professor Proteus had exposed him for performing forbidden robotic experiments on human subjects. At last, he had returned to seek his revenge using the Professor's own creations! But, little did he realize that Proteus had been hard at work for the past few years perfecting the ultimate robosaur, Cyborasaurus! There was only one hope to save the Spondylus System. Cyborasaurus must be unleashed! The DYNOWARZ must begin!
Power Blade	Taito (Natsume)	1990	22nd CENTURY WARRIOR! When New Earth's Master Computer is attacked by aliens, only NOVA, lord of the ancient Power Blade, can hope to battle through to Control Center and restore the Database!* [64]* [37]* [27]*The USA release is notably harder in that falling off the bottom of the screen kills you rather than transitioning to the area below.
Journey to Silius	Sunsoft (Sunsoft;Tokai Engineering)	1990	In the ruins of Silius, intergalactic terrorists - and their deadly arsenal of weapons - are waiting for you. Are you prepared to face an endless onslaught of flying war robots, humanoid laser cannons, bone crushing traps, and the seemingly invincible Master Ship? Still want to make the journey? If you do, it will take all your skills to reach the final battle with the terrorist's supreme leader, the merciless, all-powerful Skeletal Android. Journey to Silius. It's level upon level of gigantic supercharged graphics, thundering sound effects and danger at every turn. Go ahead. We dare you!***Working title: [code]The Terminator[/code]
M.U.L.E.	Mindscape	1990	IRATA. A New World rich with opportunity. For wealth. And power. And you can become the richest, most powerful inhabitant of the newly discovered planet by owning the most land, mining the most precious metal, and supplying the most food and energy to all the peasants - otherwise known as your opponents. To win you need MULEs (Multiple Use Labor Elements), kind of mechanical donkeys which do your dirty work: growing food, mining, and producing energy. MULEs are critical, so you want to get as many as possible as cheaply as possible. And by the way, treachery is acceptable. So use it when needed. Then sit back and enjoy your wealth and power, OH MIGHTY RULER!***4 players take turns managing during their turn. But they simultaneously compete during auctions. [Zerothis]
Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warship	Tradewest (Rare)	1990	Solar Jetman is on a one-man rescue mission to recover the most powerful spacecraft in the galaxy - The Golden Warpship. But first he must survive the 12 deadly alien worlds which hide the sabotaged vessel's parts, each with its own legion of menacing obstacles. Devastating gravitational forces, vicious alien armies, paralyzing booby traps, cosmic space warps, and mysterious black holes stand in the way. It's all up to Jetman's quick wits and galactic combat skills to carry him through the Herculean tasks that lie ahead. Only then can The Golden Warpship continue on its original mission.* [64]* [52]* [32]* [27]
Astro Fang: Super Machine	A Wave	1990
The Adventures of Rad Gravity	Activision (Interplay)	1990	[64]* [37]* [29]* [27]NES-2A-USA [Zerothis]**[sic]˙˙˙ᴎMO◖ Ǝ◖ISԀ∩ ⊥Ǝ⅁ In the Greatest Space Adventure Ever The Adventures of Rad Gravity™ take a radical trek through interstellar space... Mix it up with weird aliens... And save the galaxy from the Agathos [b]Turvia ‒ the Upside Down Planet.[/b] The One and Only Stand on your head Turn the TV upsidedown Whatever it takes to win! [b]Explore 10 unforgettable worlds.[/b] including the Asteroid Belts, The Garbage Planet, the Dinosaur World and Cyberpunk City [b]Hundreds of strange alien creatures[/b] to battle or befriend. Use your "translator" to speak their laaguage [b]Inside the mother ship.[/b] Kakos, your computer, will provide lifesaving hints and clues as you warp to the next planet [b]Dozens of puzzles, mazes and power-ups[/b] for hours of challenge and shocking surprises [upside down text and errors from box included] [Zerothis]
DropZone	Mindscape (Eurocom Entertainment Software)	1992	Original version developed by Arena Graphics. Ported to NES by Eurocom. NES-D5-UKV PAL Region A published 1992 by Mindscape in The United Kingdom. EAN:4 013195 000362 NES-D5-NOE PAL Region B published 1992 by Mindscape in Germany. EAN:4 013195 000362 Announced but unreleased by Mindscape in the United States. A defender clone. It was actually written at Arena Graphics with the Atari 8-bit computers in mind but was ported to several systems including this version ported by Eurocom Entertainment Software. Fly you spaceman wearing a jetpack. Shootdown the various alien enemies that try to abduct the humanoids on each planet's surface. You can rescue the humanoids by touching them first or catching them after an abducting ship is destroyed. [Zerothis]
Ultima: Warriors of Destiny	FCI (Origin Systems)	1992
Power Punch II	American Softworks (Beam)	1992	Punch-Out!! was an Arcade Coin-op by Nintendo Super Punch-Out!! was a conversion kit by Nintendo for Punch-Out!! Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! was the home version of Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!!, having some characters from both and original characters. Super Punch-Out!! was also released for Super Nintendo and features the Arcade characters and characters from the NES versions of Punch-Out!! Beam software had been developing a sequel to Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (expecting Nintendo to keep the Tyson license for many years to come) called Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch. Due to Nintendo's not renewing the deal to use Tyson's name and likeness, the main character was renamed to Mark Tyler, but Nintendo still didn't like what Beam had created so the passed up the opportunity to publish it. American Softworks wanted to publish it so Beam let them. It was retitled Power Punch II despite the fact that it was the first Power Punch game to be released. Later Nintendo created a Punch-Out version for Wii that was influenced by all previous versions except the Intergalactic/Power Punch releases. The original version featuring Tyson was available as a reproduction, RET-MT-GBL, from RetroZone.
Mickey's Safari in Letterland	Hi-Tech Expressions;Playtronic (Beam)	1993	NES-M8-USA Developed by Beam Software and published by Hi-Tech Expressions in 1993-03 1 player only Play the anthropomorphic Mickey Mouse as he travels to Letterland and 'hunts' letters in this platform game. The letters are needed for Ludwig von Drake's museum where Goofy and Mickey are currently employed. Goofy chauffeurs Mickey between the 6 regions with different terrains in Letterland; Snowy mountains and icy surfaces in Yukon, cliffs, water, and tropical beaches in Caribbean, swamp and water in Swamp, water and forest in Forest, water and jungle in Jungle, and desert and pyramid interiors in Pyramid. Each Every level has 3 letters of a single 3 letter word, each hidden in a letter diamond, that Mickey optionally must find and 'capture' in a butterfly net. If he finds all 3, he will spell the world after the level ends while an illustration of the word is shown (hat, leg, arm, etc...). Mickey can say all 26 letters, laugh, and exclaim "oh boy" in synthesized speech that actually sounds like Mickey. The level ends when Mickey nets the stone slab containing an ancient fossilized letter. Goofy also operates a Rube Goldberg type of machine that cleans and preserves the fossils before Mickey puts them in the museum display. This is also part of the game, the player must match the letter to it place in the display. There are 26 levels in expert mode, 4 or 5 per region, one for each letter of the English alphabet. Beating the game treats the player to an 8-bit instrumental rendition of The Alphabet Song (Mozart's Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). It is impossible to die but Mickey will show comical discomfort at contacting enemies or falling long distances. This is an extremely easy aimed at people who are not yet or are still learning the English alphabet. However, finding all the letters for the bonus words involves more advanced exploration and problem solving skills. A few letters are in places where they player may not be able to return to once they pass a certain point in the level and so careful planning is required to achieve this goal. The mushrooms and hippos from Disney's movie Fantasia and Monkeys from the movie Junglebook, make cameos. All the creatures listed are passive or inconsiderate to Mickey's presence, though all can be made useful. The living snowman and the anthropomorphic mushrooms are the only fantastically presented creatures. Hint, swing the net just before hitting the ground to avoid 'hurting' Mickey. Hint, contacting a creature or a corner of a surface tosses Mickey into the air with the height depending on several factors. Hint, every level has an animal or apparatus that will cause Mickey to jump extra high if the jump button is held. [spoiler=Hidden mode;close]If you press Select on the map screen you can enter a mode where Mickey says the letter the player points to when they press a button. Pressing select again returns to the map screen. This might be in the instruction book but can still be consider a secret since people just learning their alpha bet would not be expected to read the instruction book. [/spoiler] Someone should verify the details of the hidden mode as stated in the instruction booklet. The game displays a copyright of 1990 but was not published until 1993-03. [Zerothis]

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