Hey everyone, we’ve had our April showers, now it’s time to bring May flowers! And what better way to celebrate spring than visting super dark, industrial and grimy Gotham City?
By 1990, Sunsoft was already very prolific on the Famicom, but many of their games remained exclusive to Japan. However in 1988 they had their first breakout hit in North America: Blaster Master. They were then able to secure the license to one of the biggest upcoming movies: Tim Burton’s Batman.
Released in late 1989 in Japan, and early 1990 in North America, Batman: The Movie on NES was extremely well received. Just like Blaster Master, the game featured insanely tight controls, a killer soundtrack, and impressive graphics that seemed more detailed than the 8-Bit NES could provide thanks to clever use of blacks and a dark palette.
I’ve played this game so many times, and can’t wait to revisit it. After a couple of easy first levels to let you get the hang of the controls, it REALLY ramps up in difficulty. But the game never feels unfair: the controls are so responsive that you always feel that your death was your own fault. Likewise, the game very quickly throws you into situations that require you to strategically use Batman’s three different weapons, but don’t forget to save some ammo for the boss!
NOMINATIONS FOR JUNE 2018
- Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues - SNES
- Sub Terrania - Genesis/Megadrive
- Uncharted Waters: New Horizons: SNES/Genesis/Others
- Donkey Kong '94 - GameBoy
0 voters
Nomination 1: Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues - SNES - Ocean Software, 1995
A later release on SNES, this game is basically Contra with dinosaurs. You are given a number of mission you can complete in any order, and most explore levels in order to complete your objectives. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, as I find very few people talk about it, but it’s a fun game. Can be played 2-player co-op as well! NOTE: It’s also insanely hard, you have been warned.
Nomination 2: Sub Terrania - Genesis/Mega Drive - Zyrinx, 1993
A shooter by Danish company Zyrinx, developed on Amiga development kits but released on the Sega Genesis. And yes, this game has it’s Euro-roots showing: it definitely would not feel out of place on the Amiga. Playing as a mix between a traditional shooter and Lunar Lander (Rotate your ship then activate thrust), it’s a unique game on a system full of shooters. And what’s a great shooter without a great soundtrack, with Jesper Kyd providing one of his very first soundtracks to this game.
Nomination 3: Uncharted Waters: New Horizons - SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive, DOS, PC-98, plus others - KOEI Co., 1993
This is one I’ve never heard about: It looks like one of the few games in the Uncharted Waters series to get a release outside of Japan. From what I can put together, it looks similar to Sid Meier’s Pirates, with a slice of JRPG.
Nomination 4: Donkey Kong - GameBoy - Nintendo, 1994
This was hyped big time around the same time to Super GameBoy launched in North America: Custom palettes and borders, and tons of puzzle platformer action. I haven’t played it since borrowing a friend’s copy back in 1994 or 1995, but it continues to get an insane amount of acclaim to this day.