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My 10 Favorite Games: Atari 2600 Edition

Okay, time to roll back to the start for these. I'm not going to do every system because I don't feel strongly enough to even have a list of favorites for some of them. Despite the Atari 2600 being a couple of years before my time, I have had lots of experience with it over the years. I know my way around the library enough for today's purposes, anyway. As usual, I'll list my favorite games on the console along with a short bit of text. Those favorites might not be what I would consider the best ones if I were trying to make such a list, so be prepared for that.

I've once again stuck to games released during the system's original years on the market, so no homebrew games and none of those new Atari releases. Let's get to the list!

10. H.E.R.O.

Activision's run on the Atari 2600 was legendary, and H.E.R.O. is one of its best on the platform. Your goal in each stage is to make your way to the bottom of the cave and rescue the person there. Between bombs, lasers, a jetpack, and an assortment of obstacles, this game has a lot of interesting elements to its gameplay.

9. Pitfall

Pitfall's legacy can't be overstated, but it's still a very good game all on its own. You can enjoy it as a simple run, jump, and swing game, but it's when you try to collect all the treasures within the time limit that you really appreciate the game's design.

8. Ms. Pac-Man

The Atari 2600 port of the original Pac-Man is infamous for its many issues, which might lead one to think the console just can't do the concept justice. Homebrew developers have long since proven that false, but even back in the day this port of Ms. Pac-Man showed that the 2600 could do a great Pac-game.

7. Dig Dug

This is a miracle port, as far as I'm concerned. Dig Dug's arcade hardware was well beyond what the Atari 2600 could do, and this version isn't going to fool anyone with its looks. But in terms of gameplay and how it sounds, this really gets it done. A fine version of a great game.

6. Missile Command

If this list was down to which games I played the most, Missile Command would be second only to… well, the game at the third-place position. This port makes some sensible compromises while preserving the heart of the experience, and unlike a lot of ports of arcade games that used non-standard controls, Missile Command works fine on a stick.

5. Keystone Kapers

Yes, I like Keystone Kapers more than Pitfall. What can I say? I like the flow of it. Chase down the robber while vaulting over shopping carts and ducking under toy planes, among many other fun obstacles. It looks and sounds terrific, too.

4. Pitfall II: Lost Caverns

Now this is an incredibly ambitious game for the system. Take the basic mechanics of Pitfall and apply them to an exploratory open-world adventure, and you've got Pitfall II. You even get some background music that speeds up or slows down based on how you're doing.

3. Yars' Revenge

I love Yars' Revenge. Sometimes I consider it my favorite game on the platform. It's simple enough to pick up and enjoy when you only have a few minutes, but there are a lot of satisfying layers to its mechanics. Its presentation is distinctive and feels 2600-core in a way few other games offer.

2. Solaris

Another game that tries to do a lot and somehow pulls it off. Solaris is a space adventure that pushes the system visually and provides depth that few other 2600 games offer. The first time I played this, I couldn't believe it was a 2600 game. A real masterpiece.

1. Adventure

Whenever I find myself wanting to play the 2600, Adventure is more often than not the game I turn to first. The first mode is little more than a tutorial for the more fully featured second and third modes, with the latter taking on an almost roguelike quality. There are many reasons this game is celebrated, but its value isn't limited to its influence by any means.

And that's my list. What are your favorite Atari 2600 games? I'd love to know, if you feel like sharing. There are tons of games so I suspect everyone's list would look quite different from the next. You can find a bigger list containing my 25 favorite Atari 2600 games can be found on my Patreon. Thanks for reading!

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'Breakout Beyond' Switch Review

There's a whole story behind this latest release from Atari, but it's not one that really matters all that much in the end. The short version is that Breakout Beyond was originally planned as a title for the ill-fated Amico console. Like many games announced for the Amico, it fell off the map as it became apparent the whole thing was going ca-ca. Some of those games have since popped up in various ways, with Breakout Beyond rescued by Atari itself. It's not public knowledge how far along it was in its Amico form before being put on the back-burner so I can't begin to guess the extent to which this finished game resembles the original plan. That's the last I'll speak of this messy part of Breakout Beyond. Let's talk about the game.

The developer of Breakout Beyond is Choice Provisions, best known for the Bit.Trip series of stylish action games. Similar to games like Shatter or Choice Provisions' own Bit.Trip Beat, Breakout Beyond turns the usual vertical well on its side. Otherwise, the broad gameplay mechanics are familiar. You've got a paddle, a ball, and some bricks to break. The game is broken up into seventy-two stages, and your goal in each of them is to bust through the walls until you reach the goal and… break out. There's a target time for each, and you're naturally encouraged to pump your score as high as possible. Oh, and you have a limited number of balls to do this with. Let too many of them past your paddle, and you're done.

Fans of brick-breakers would probably be satisfied enough with just that, but there's a bit more going on here. First, you're building up a combo that cranks up your score. Hitting the ball back a few times will charge it up, too. But if things get going too fast and you need a little help, you can activate a slowdown that sucks away your combo and score as you hold down the button. Taking a page from Arkanoid (and why shouldn't it), there are also power-up bricks you can break. There are several different kinds, and you can have multiple power-ups active at once.

Besides the main seventy-two stages, there's also an unlockable endless mode with its own online leaderboard. That's meant to keep you going if you get tired of replaying the pre-built stages, and it does a decent job of it. There's also a co-op mode if you feel like pulling in a friend to help you out. As you would expect from this developer, everything is done up with a lot of style, too. The action feels like it's making a beat of its own, with the sound effects serving as a huge part of the soundtrack. The UI is simple yet slick, and the graphics are effects-heavy but still easy to read.

The only real problem with Breakout Beyond is in the controls. Playing games like this without a paddle controller is always hit or miss, and I wish there was an option to use touch controls here for a bit more precision. You can adjust the sensitivity of the paddle, but when things are moving fast it's really hard to reliably get it where you want it to be. I've played a lot worse on the Switch in this regard, but I've also played better.

Breakout Beyond is an easy game to review. First of all, if you don't like brick breakers then you can just give it a pass. It's not trying to be anything more than that. If you do enjoy the genre, I can give this a relatively solid recommendation. I don't think it plays quite as well as Shatter, and it doesn't offer as much bang for your buck. But it's good enough on its own merits, and it certainly gives you plenty to do. Atari fans should definitely pick it up, as it's full of fun references like many recent Atari games tend to be.

Switch Score: 3.5/5

Breakout Beyond costs $14.99 and is available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series, Atari VCS, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. A review code was provided by the publisher.

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My 10 Favorite Games: Atari 7800 Edition

Okay, let's finish this particular console generation up before I move back to the earlier consoles. The Atari 7800 wasn't much of a success anywhere. There are a lot of reasons for that, but this isn't the place to litigate history. No, it's the place where I rank my favorite (not necessarily the best) games on a console. I also write a very little bit about each game, but only a little bit. We'd be here all day otherwise.

This console did present an interesting dilemma for me. It's still getting new official releases. Atari has been putting out new Atari 2600 and 7800 games in recent years, and that's kind of weird. I've made the executive decision not to include those new games in my consideration, mostly because I haven't played them. That leaves us with the original selection of fifty-eight games, meaning this list comprises around one-sixth of the entire library. Well, let's get to it.

10. Commando

This is a surprisingly good port of Capcom's arcade game. It looks good, surprisingly sounds good, and it plays really well. If you liked Commando in the arcades, this would have been a great way to play it at home. Another game that shows what the 7800 can do quite nicely.

9. Ninja Golf

If I judged Ninja Golf by my first few games of it that I played, it would be a solid contender for the number one spot. The novelty value on this bizarre beat 'em up/golf hybrid is off the charts. It loses a bit of its shine after a while, but remains a silly and highly enjoyable game that is emblematic of the console.

8. Dig Dug

The Atari 7800 pulls off a very good port of Namco's game of digging and pumping. The audio takes a hit, but otherwise you'll have as much fun here as you will with any other decent port of the game from the time. I like the original arcade version of Dig Dug a lot, and I like this port too.

7. Joust

If you want to play a mean game of Joust, the Atari 7800 is a great way to do that. I know some serious Joust fans and while I'm not quite as big on the game as some of them, I like it a lot. This version is very faithful to the arcade game and keeps me coming back again and again to try to top my best score.

6. Ballblazer

I don't use this word a lot with Atari 7800 games released during its original time on the market, but Ballblazer really is impressive. Its visuals are smooth, fast, and ambitious. The audio is excellent thanks to the inclusion of a POKEY sound chip in the cartridge. It's a bit simple from a gameplay perspective, but it works.

5. Galaga

Regular readers know I have a lot of nostalgia for Galaga since it's one of the first games I remember playing. It was an ancient game by the time the Atari 7800 properly released, so it's not that surprising that the port is sound. It's a bit weird how one wave immediately picks up from the next, but it doesn't hurt the game any. Yes, I like it.

4. Ms. Pac-Man

GCC did this port of Ms. Pac-Man. GCC also created the Atari 7800 hardware. Oh, and GCC was the original creator of Ms. Pac-Man in the arcades. Hacker? I don't know how to accurately describe that whole thing. Basically, there were no hands more capable for porting this superb game, and it shows. The screen has to be squished a bit vertically, but everything is here and it plays great.

3. Xevious

In terms of pure sentiment, I like Galaga better than Xevious. But if I have to pick one of the two to play on the Atari 7800, I'll give Xevious the narrow edge. It's a lot of fun, and the console handles it well. It can be a little tough to parse everything at times due to the chunky pixels, but generally speaking this game is a blast.

2. Robotron 2084

Wow! Now this is pod racing! Sure, Robotron 2084 was a little long in the tooth by this point, but there was no good console port of the game yet by this point. The 7800 has the necessary sprite-pushing power to properly render the tense action, and you can even use a pair of joysticks for proper twin-stick action. I can play this game for hours on end, and this 7800 port does the job extremely well.

1. Food Fight

Honestly, I continuously waffle between this and Robotron when it comes to picking my absolute favorite game on the 7800. Something about Food Fight just feels more emblematic of the console, so I'm giving it the nod here. A great top-down shooter with a fun premise. I like it even better here than in its original arcade form.

And that's my Atari 7800 list. What are your favorite games on this machine? By the way, if I were including homebrew and/or new releases, number one on the list would be Rikki & Vikki. Just wanted to put that out there for the record. Go play it. You can buy it on Steam.

Like usual, you can find an expanded list of 25 games on my Patreon. You can access it and hundreds of other exclusive articles for just a buck a month. In fact, I just put my favorite 25 Atari 2600 games up there today. Either way, thanks for reading!

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Review: EGGCONSOLE How Many Robot PC-8801mkIISR

I’ve had some requests to cover D4Enterprise’s EGGCONSOLE releases like I used to at TouchArcade. It does seem as though there isn’t much out there about them a lot of the time, and I pick up each release anyway. So let’s do that that little thing. I’ll start with the most recent release and work my way back while also staying on top of whatever new releases come. Today’s game is…

How Many Robot

Originally released in 1988 by Artdink

How Many Robot is a puzzle game that was released on PC-8801 mkII SR, MSX2, and X68000 computers in Japan. The version offered here is the PC-8801 game. As usual for EGGCONSOLE releases, no localization has been done for the game or the scanned materials. There is a digital manual with seven pages that should get you on your way, however. There isn’t a ton of text in the game, and most of the important stuff is in English. You will run into the occasional instructions in Japanese written in Romaji, and a few less critical messages in kana. It’s very playable even if you can’t understand Japanese.

The developer of the game is Artdink, and it’s one of the earlier efforts from the studio. You might know them for A-Train, Aquanaut’s Holiday, Tail of the Sun, or Carnage Heart. The latter is particularly relevant here, as that game involved “programming” your units for missions. Artdink makes some interesting games, often full of heart and rough edges in equal parts. How Many Robot demonstrates that in many ways that has always been the case.

The primary goal in How Many Robot is to use a robot to carry a bomb to a disposal unit on each map before the timer runs out or the robot runs out of energy. There are nine maps in total, and they increase in complexity as you go. In addition to the bombs and disposal units, many other items might be strewn about the map. Lamps, batteries, reflectors, boxes, and an energy-draining entity called the Triple-E must be dealt with. The robot can pick up, carry, and drop many of these things if he has a free hand to do so.

The robot is powered by light, and light plays a big role in How Many Robot. When the robot is standing in the light, it will replenish its energy. Since any action the robot performs costs energy, this recharge can prove vital on larger maps. It’s therefore advantageous to have the robot work in the light as much as possible. The robot can move lamps, and as long as they are placed next to a battery they will light up the area around them. Reflectors can also be used to shine light in areas, but they can only be picked up if they are not currently reflecting any light. That’s important to remember.

One more thing to know about the light, and it leads to the game’s big twist. When the robot is in the light, you can fully control its actions. In the dark, you can only issue a command to pick up or drop something. Movement in dark areas falls entirely to the robot’s AI. So where does that AI come from? It learns it from you, okay! Basically the robot will remember what you direct it to do in certain contexts, and it will try to apply similar strategies when it’s on its own. If it gets stuck in a loop for too long, it will cast its eyes upward at you. At this point you can issue it a single command that will hopefully get the robot out of its current pickle. If its AI is proving bothersome, you can dump the robot’s memory and start over.

Essentially, How Many Robot comes down to two things. First, try to light the path to the bomb and disposal unit as much as you can. Second, train the robot so that it can navigate dark areas on its own. The former aspect is similar to many puzzle games about reflecting light, but the latter is very unique indeed. You end up getting attached to the little fellow as it tries to learn from what you taught it. Quite a good hook for a puzzler, though you will need a fair bit of patience for those times when the robot is really having trouble.

It will probably take most players a good while to clear all nine maps. After that, you can try to clear them faster or with more energy in reserve at the end. Or you can just play the stages again to enjoy interacting with the robot more. It does have that toy-ish quality that many Artdink games do. The controls are somewhat cumbersome in places, and you’ll have to use the software keyboard more often than in the average EGGCONSOLE release. It’s not a game you can easily jump into and expect to figure out right away. Not on any level.

It took me a little while to come to grips with How Many Robot, but once I did I had a really nice time. I’d love to see a modern take on this idea. Patient puzzle game fans and Artdink aficionados should definitely give How Many Robot a look.

Score: 4/5

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My 10 Favorite Games: SEGA Master System/Mark III Edition

I'm trying to pace myself properly with these lists. The bigger the library, the bigger the job of picking my favorites is. Which is to say, I'll swing back around to Atari 2600 when I have a bigger chunk of time to do so. For now, let's go with SEGA's 8-bit console. The Master System had a truly bizarre life on a global scale. Depending on where you lived it was a virtual non-factor, the first big console success, or one of the most popular consoles of all-time. The library you were exposed to would have reflected that status.

This author is Canadian, and while my list isn't bound to what came out in my home region, my nostalgia for the games that did is stronger. Like before, I won't spend many words on each game. I will reiterate that these are my favorite games, not necessarily what I would call the best games. Your list will almost certainly differ.

10. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World

I'm not a very big fan of Alex Kidd, but this mash-up with Shinobi is excellent. It's tongue-in-cheek in that playful SEGA way, but the best thing about it is in how it plays. The mechanics are good, the level designs are interesting, and there's decent variety without veering completely off the road.

9. Wonder Boy in Monster World

While a clear step down from its predecessor, Wonder Boy in Monster World retains enough of that game's quality to make it one of the best games you can play on the SEGA Master System. A fantastic action-adventure.

8. Sonic the Hedgehog

There's an argument to be had that this 8-bit version of Sonic is even better than the Mega Drive/Genesis game. I'm not sure if I'd go quite that far, but the fact that there's even a discussion about that tells you how good this game is. Great music, too.

7. Power Strike

An Aleste game by any other name is… an Aleste game. And that's a good thing if you love vertical shoot 'em ups. You really can't go wrong with this game, and it's baffling that SEGA only sold it via mail order in North America back in the day.

6. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

It's Puyo Puyo. I love Puyo Puyo. The nice thing about Puyo Puyo is that you don't need any fancy hardware to make it work. This is the best "falling block" puzzle game on the console, no question.

5. Asterix

Asterix is not very well-known in North America. The character, the comic, the games. As such, I have no particular affection for this brand. I played this game well after the fact and was frankly shocked at how fun of a platformer it is. If you haven't played it before, give it a go.

4. Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap

The Dragon's Trap is a masterpiece that has stood the test of time extremely well. I can say that with confidence because the remake that came out several years back didn't make many changes to the original gameplay at all and people still ate it up. Easily one of the crown jewels of the system.

3. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse

Sometimes it feels like SEGA's amazing legacy with the Disney license doesn't get the attention it deserves. Some of the best first-party platformers on SEGA's consoles carried the Disney license. The Mega Drive/Genesis version of Castle of Illusion is great too, but this 8-bit version is a superb example of the genre.

2. Power Strike II

Not a port! Not an imaginary game! But it was a European exclusive, which is not something you see happen often with Aleste games. Really just the one time, in fact. Anyway, this is another top tier shoot 'em up from a developer who knew its way around this kind of thing better than most. I don't think I could ever get tired of this game.

1. Phantasy Star

The one part of the Master System library that SEGA has never left behind is Phantasy Star, the outstanding sci-fi RPG that kicked off a series that still runs to this day in some form or another. It's easy to see why. This first entry in the series often feels more advanced than some of its 16-bit sequels, with some really wild first-person dungeons and a planet-hopping story. One of the best RPGs of the era, and my favorite Master System game.

That's my SEGA Master System/Mark III list. If you want more, I've got a version of this article with my top twenty-five SEGA Master System/Mark III games over on my Patreon site. Just a buck a month gets you access that article and hundreds of others. Thanks for reading!

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My 10 Favorite Games: NES/Famicom Edition

We all have our favorites on any platform, right? They may or may not be the best games, and some of them might be wrapped up in personal nostalgia, but that's what makes it your own list. I've decided to do some articles with my favorite games on various platforms. I'm starting with the NES/Famicom because it was the easiest one to do off the top of my head. I'm not going to go into much detail on each game, so you'll just have to take it for what it is. Remember, these are my favorite games, not necessarily what I would call the best games.

10. Castlevania 3

While there's a certain admirable simplicity to the original Castlevania, the third game's multiple routes and playable characters greatly expand on the kinds of scenarios the designers can throw at the player. Great stuff.

9. Ninja Gaiden

For how much I loved this game when I was young, it feels a little weird to not have it higher than this. Well, what can you do? An incredible action game, even with the extremely rude way it handles its finale.

8. Metroid

I know this game gets a lot of stick, but I think it was one of the first NES games to captivate me with its mysterious nature. Later games are easier to play and probably better, but there's something here that was lost later.

7. Kirby's Adventure

A genuine triumph for the platform. It plays great, has tons of fun secrets, and is remarkably varied in its challenges. Most games that try half as much as this drop the ball, but Kirby's Adventure is quality all the way through.

6. Mega Man 2

There were days where I would have said another Mega Man game was my favorite on the platform, but Mega Man 2 is time tested by now. Unbalanced? Yes. Some stupid bosses? Definitely a couple. But it's ridiculously fun anyway.

5. Batman: The Video Game

As one of the many kids hyped beyond belief for the 1989 Batman movie, I was ready to play anything a game company threw onto my platform of choice. Sunsoft didn't have to make something this good, but it did.

4. Dragon Quest III

A huge, epic RPG that offers plenty of replay value thanks to its enjoyable job system. The story is also a head-turner the first time you experience it. Easily my favorite RPG on the platform.

3. Super Mario Bros. 3

It's only one of the best games of all-time. I've played this game so much that it has lost a lot of its novelty for me, but if I take even a half-step back and think about it, it's truly a dazzling game in every sense.

2. The Legend of Zelda

Rough around the edges though it may be, The Legend of Zelda is a game I happily replay regularly. The big, open world is interesting to explore. The dungeons and bosses are cool. I love how much you can sequence break. Simply awesome.

1. Bionic Commando

If you have one really great mechanic and realize it perfectly, that's sometimes all you need. Not that the rest of the game around the bionic arm isn't done well, but even if it wasn't I think I would have tons of fun.

I'll do other consoles in the future, but that's my NES/Famicom list. If you want more, I've got a version of this article with my top twenty-five favorite NES/Famicom games over on my Patreon site. Just a buck a month gets you access to that article and many, many others. Either way, thanks for reading!

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You Can't Buy Final Fantasy These Days*

*Okay, you can, but only secondhand in its original format.

You can't buy Final Fantasy these days. I mean, you can buy a game called Final Fantasy on most platforms. It's this one:

It's really pretty, and has some nice orchestral music. It's a lot of fun, too. A very breezy affair that even those less inclined to like turn-based RPGs might have a nice time going through. Every party is viable! That's nifty. Yes, I like this game a lot. I recommend it. But it's not Final Fantasy. It's based on Final Fantasy, it has the same name, but it's not Final Fantasy.

Also not Final Fantasy.

Still not Final Fantasy.

Not Final Fantasy either.

Okay, we're back to Final Fantasy.

So, I've been replaying Final Fantasy via the Japanese 3DS Virtual Console release. The original NES game, that is. It's been a while since I played this version of the game, as I generally go to whatever remake is newest when I feel like playing Final Fantasy. Playing this has reminded me of just how far away the game has gotten from the source material through those various remakes, and it makes me a little sad there's no real way to access this version of the game through official means right now. It's a problem we see a lot when there are remakes in play, unfortunately.

I'm not trying to be a gatekeeper about any of this. What I said about Pixel Remaster goes for any of the Final Fantasy remakes. They're all very good games in their own right, and I wouldn't be surprised if any of them were the one that someone fell in love with. But I also don't think they are the same game as the original, and I think we lose something by not having that version readily accessible alongside whatever spiffy new version Square Enix wants to sell.

Final Fantasy is kind of slow. Turns take a long time to resolve, especially when there are a lot of enemies. Your characters and the enemies both frequently miss their attacks. Level-ups take a lot of experience, and getting enough money to stay equipped with fresh gear and spells pretty much requires a lot of grinding. If the enemy a character targeted is already dead by the time their turn comes up, they'll just whiff the air. A bunch of the spells are bugged and just don't work, or work in weird ways. Some of the enemies accidentally show up in edges of areas where they shouldn't. People figured this out and a Peninsula of Power was born.

It's really easy to die in Final Fantasy. Healing options are more limited than in many other RPGs. Potions heal so little they are almost useless past a point. Status ailments are deadly. You can only save at inns or by using tents, cottages, or houses on the overworld map. The jobs are horribly balanced. A barehanded Master/Super Monk can take out the last boss with ease. Really, by the time a Black Belt/Monk reaches level 8, there's no point equipping any weapons on him anymore. Just how the math works. Whenever you open or close the menu or world map, you get this funky colorful flashing.

Final Fantasy is a 1987 console RPG. It has a lot of friction. It was coded by one guy, and it often shows. It sometimes has more heart than sense, and it's definitely short on modern niceties. Final Fantasy is a very challenging game, and it's easy to lose a ton of progress with just a bit of bad luck. Dungeons are genuinely dangerous because you can't save inside of them. Even normal enemies can hit really hard, and bosses can thrash you. Spell management is a pain because you never really have enough charges to let fly the way you would like to. Getting to the end of the game takes a lot of persistence.

The remakes of Final Fantasy make for more accessible and comfortable experiences, but those qualities in and of themselves mean those games are not the same as that NES original. And that's fine. Lots of people don't want to deal with all that nonsense. But Final Fantasy is the game that was enough of a hit that all those sequels and remakes happened, and it doesn't deserve to be scrubbed away. I'd love if the Pixel Remasters included the original games as an extra, so that people could at least choose to break their teeth on them if they want.

You can't buy Final Fantasy these days, and that's too bad.

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Gradius II (TG-16 Mini)

Well, sure. Why not complete the trifecta? Yes, I wish Parodius was included in the mini-console too, but music rights are apparently an issue with those games. So we'll have to settle for Gradius, Salamander, and Gradius II serving our Konami hori-shooter needs. Gradius II is an excellent game that I feel doesn't get quite the level of respect outside of Japan that it deserves, perhaps because none of its myriad contemporary console ports actually saw release in the West. Even the arcade original went under the name Vulcan Venture in some Western regions for reasons I can't even begin to guess at. That's a shame because if you ask me, it's better than both Gradius and Gradius III.

Having a choice of weapon load-outs helps make the game more fun to replay, and the spectacle is suitably ramped up from the first game. At the same time, it's not as stupidly difficult as Gradius III. A sweet spot. This particular port uses the CD format, and as a result we don't even need to talk about any hidden "near arcade" secret modes. Gradius II is already as near arcade as it could be on this hardware. The slowdown when things get too busy is unavoidable, as is the more neutered nature of the straight laser beam. The game also halts for a few seconds between stages to do some loading off the disc. Small sacrifices that are salved somewhat by the addition of an entirely new level.

I'm not sure if Gradius II is the best Konami shooter on the PC Engine (Parodius looms large) but it's easily the best of the bunch that we got here on the TG-16 Mini. If you've never had a chance to play it before, this is a great way to do it. I recommend making a save state at the start of each stage to mitigate the "Gradius Effect" a little, but I think you'll find this to be surprisingly manageable by the standards of the series.

The platform was already basically dead in the West by the time this game came out, but I still can't help but wonder if Gradius II itself would at least have a more established reputation globally if this excellent port had been released outside of Japan. It's a top-tier shooter on a console full of them, and I'm thrilled Konami chose to include it on the TG-16 Mini so that everyone* got a chance to try it.

*everyone who managed to get their hands on one of these somewhat scarce devices, anyway.

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Bomberman '93 (TG-16 Mini)

You know, really thinking about it, Hudson had a few credible mascot candidates. Bonk of course, and Master Higgins/Takahashi Meijin as well. But with the benefit of hindsight, we know the real Hudson all-star was Bomberman. Indeed, it appears to be the only part of Hudson's carcass that Konami still regularly makes use of today. I suppose that makes sense, though. Bonk and Master Higgins, for all of their charms, are just participants in a very competitive and well-worn genre. Bomberman made his own genre. It's hard to win against that!

Bomberman '93 wasn't the first Bomberman game on the PC Engine. There was an upgraded port of the original game released a few years earlier. But that curious aspect of the console's character kicks in here. Games released before a certain line in time feel very much like gussied-up 8-bit designs, while those released after are more 16-bit in character. Bomberman '93 is a meaningful upgrade from previous Bomberman games, with more environmental gimmicks, a wider array of enemies to blast away, significantly expanded boss battles, five-player multiplayer with a selection of several arenas, and the ever-popular bomb-kicking power-up.

There had been a number of Bomberman games before this, and I'm not going to pretend this wasn't already a fairly big deal by the time Bomberman '93 came out. But at least for me, this is where the series took a big step up in terms of what it offered players. Later Bomberman games do some interesting things, but you could pretty much just play this one forever and have your Bomberman needs satisfied. This isn't the last Bomberman game on the actual console or this mini-console, so we'll be talking about how one game tries to build on it, at least. But right here? This is plenty.

I'll talk more about Bomberman's appeal in general when we get to that other game, so I'll wrap things up here. Of course this was included in the TG-16 Mini. It had to be. It's one of the icons of both Hudson and the platform, and it's still just as fun to play in the current year as it was more than thirty years ago.

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Air Zonk (TG-16 Mini)

If you have a great platforming mascot that seems to be going over well with people, why not branch them out into spin-offs? That's how we end up with Air Zonk, and that's a mighty fine outcome. This is a horizontally-scrolling cute 'em up featuring a futuristic cyborg who through some means or another must have descended from Bonk. He can shoot! He can charge up for super attacks! He can even torch enemies with the afterburners on his feet! There are power-ups that give you new weapons, and you can even merge with a rocket to really lay down some heavy fire.

Air Zonk isn't as challenging as some of the other games on the TG-16 Mini, especially in the horizontal shooter category. It's still plenty of fun, though. And while I'm talking about relative difficulty, this is by no means a pushover of a game. The boss battles are especially neat, but the enemy encounters during each stage are enjoyable enough to deal with that you won't get bored. The game also looks great, making great use of the system's colorful palette. Add in some quality tunes and explosion sounds, and you've got just about all you need.

Honestly, I'm starting to run out of things to say about the shooters included in this mini-console. If I were doing deep dives and breaking down all the details, it would be easy to write a lot of things about Air Zonk. But that's not really what this series of articles is about. I'm having a big spoonful of each game and moving on. Air Zonk is really cool and I had a great time with it. It's wild how many fantastic shooters there are in this selection. Air Zonk manages to stand out thanks to its charming presentation and sound mechanics. A worthy inclusion, without question.

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The Latest Arcade Archives Sale Includes A Whopping 20 Games From Taito and Hamster

It's a big one this time, retro arcade game fans. Hamster's doing another sale on some of its Arcade Archives titles on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4/5, and instead of the usual ten games on sale we've got twenty to consider. Ten of the games are Taito titles, while the other ten come from the various bits and bobs that Hamster has bought over the years. All of them are 30% off, and the sale runs until February 26th.

I'll mention as always that it's rare for any given Arcade Archives game to go on sale more than once, so if you're interested in something here then you should buy it soon. Oh, and if you don't see the sale yet, just give it a little time to propagate to your region's store. Let's go through those games, one by one.

Arcade Archives Taito Games (30% Off)

Kiki Kaikai (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

The series this game kicked off is generally known in the West as Pocky & Rocky. It's a multi-directional top-down shooter with a Japanese Youkai theme. Tons of fun, exceedingly charming, and a game I would easily recommend to anyone who likes old arcade games enough to be reading an article like this.

The Ninja Warriors (Also Seen In Taito Milestones)

The Ninja Warriors is best remembered for two things: its incredible Zuntata soundtrack, and the far better reimagining/sequel done by Natsume on the Super NES. This is a very simple side-scrolling action game in the vein of things like Vigilante or Spartan X. It's not terrible, but it gets repetitive in a hurry.

Solitary Fighter (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

The 1991 follow-up to Violence Fight, it's a pre-Street Fighter 2 fighting game with all that implies. It's a clumsy game to be sure and not very good compared to the modern conception of this genre, but you get to fight a bear and when you hit things a big DOGOOOOOON sometimes gets thrown onto the screen. Ten out of ten, no notes.

Elevator Action (Also Seen In Taito Milestones)

Elevator Action is a great game. You start at the top of a building and need to make your way to the ground floor, grabbing all the secret documents along the way. You'll be hounded by enemy agents, but you have a firearm of your own to protect yourself with. Per the title, you'll be using a lot of elevators. You can squash enemies with them. There's a lot of depth in this humble little game. Highly recommended.

Chack'n Pop (Also Seen In Taito Milestones)

The protagonist of this game is sometimes used as a mascot by Taito, and many of the visual elements were recycled for the far more famous Bubble Bobble. It's a single-screen action game where, as Chack, you have to free all the trapped hearts on each stage and then make your way to the exit. Enemies will dog you along the way, and your only means of defense are some very treacherous bombs. You also have stick 'em powers. Like many early Taito games it's a bit too complicated for its own good, but that also gives it a certain appeal.

Front Line (Also Seen In Taito Milestones)

If you want to know the origins of games like Ikari Warriors or Commando, you'll want to check out Front Line. It's a top-down military shooter, and it's drenched in that early arcade awkwardness that makes it hard to hate. It's enjoyable as a score attacker, so if that's your thing then you might want to dig into this.

Pirate Pete

This is a reskin of Jungle Hunt, which itself was a reskin of a Tarzan game. Swing along the ropes, then take a little swim, then jump your way to rescue your pirate girlfriend. A simple loop to be sure, but it's a solid one. While people likely have more nostalgia for the Jungle Hunt version, I think the pirate theme works just as well.

Flipull

Sometimes known as Plotting, this is a puzzle game where you have to throw marked blocks at a pile to remove a certain quota. You have a limited number of blocks and a timer to push against in each stage, and the challenge heats up in a hurry. I like this one a lot. It's a good pick-up for fans of arcade puzzlers.

Raimais

This one's more than it initially seems to be. It's similar to Head On, where you're driving a high-speed vehicle through mazes collecting dots. You need to avoid crashing into your opponents while you're at it. The thing about this game is that there are a ton of secrets to uncover and a lot of different paths to the ending. It's not going to be for everyone, but for some it's going to be a complete obsession.

Time Tunnel

Time Tunnel hails from 1982, and you know that means it's going to be either a shooter or weird. This one is the latter. You control a train and need to move around in mazes performing a variety of objectives. A quirky little game that is kind of fun to chew on if you come into it with the right mindset.

Arcade Archives Hamster Games (30% Off)

Turbo Force

A vertical shoot 'em up originally published by Video System. You play as a flying car with laser beams. I mean, that's a selling point. You can power up your attack, but its strength will wear down the longer you hold down the fire button. You'll need to balance between laying down fire and letting it rest. Not an amazing game, but not a bad one either.

Rezon

Another shooter, this one of the horizontal variety. It was originally released in 1991 by Allumer, and it's more than a little inspired by R-Type. Like most games you can say that for, it's nowhere near as good as what it's biting from. The gimmick here is a pair of extra guns that give you added firepower and can be locked into place to use as a shield. You can't shoot while using them as a guard, though. It's kind of trashy, but that's the sort of game you want to grab on sale.

Strike Gunner

A vertical shooter, this one originally released by Athena. It had a Super NES port that seemed to be hanging around the racks of every rental shop, but this arcade version is a little different. You can choose a weapon for each stage, but you can only use each one once so you have to think carefully about which one to use when. You can also do a fusion move, but only when playing with another person. A little bland, but there's some comfort in its meat-and-potatoes action.

Itazura Tenshi

Here's a Nichibutsu game where you play as an angel trying to connect the stars of various constellations. Sometimes you can pick up a bow to fend off the enemies that hassle you in this endeavor, but you'll have to rely on dodging most of the time. A very unique game that is satisfying to run score attacks on.

Magical Speed

Speaking of unique games, this is a take on the card game Speed. You can play against the CPU or another player locally, and… it's Speed. It's also completely in Japanese, so keep that in mind if you're going to pick this up. It's amusing enough, but not one I would be in a big rush to pick up.

Omega Fighter

I hope you like vertical shoot 'em ups, because we've got one more here. More to come, too. This one was originally released by UPL, and it's not too shabby. You get extra points for destroying enemies close-up, there are items you can pick up and use, and your shot is quite devastating. The scoring opportunities make this quite well-suited to the timed Caravan mode included in all of these releases.

Radical Radial

Radical Radial is a vertically scrolling shooting game from 1982, and it's surprisingly good. You play as a tire, and you'll need to avoid and jump over obstacles as you deal with foes. Lots of Nichibutsu energy flowing through this, and a game I've enjoyed quite a bit since picking it up in a sale a few years back. I'd recommend it.

Penguin-Kun Wars

Oh yes, this is a charmer. You and another animal sit at opposite sides of a table. Your goal is to throw all of the balls to the other side, while your opponent does the same. If you hit them with a ball, they'll be temporarily stunned. The same goes for you, of course. This is the key to winning. Fast and just a good time all around.

Thunder Dragon

Were you looking for another vertical shoot 'em up? Okay, but in this one you're a battle helicopter and it plays a lot like Raiden. Like, an awful lot like Raiden. I've played far worse takes on Raiden, however. The scoring system has a good punch to it, which is always a plus for Arcade Archives releases. Get on those leaderboards!

Saboten Bombers

This is not a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up! No, it's one of those elimination platformers in the vein of Bubble Bobble, and it's decent. You're a living cactus, and you blow things up with bombs. Lots of bonus items to pick up and weird enemies to battle. It's far from the best example of this sub-genre, but if you like this sort of thing then I think you'll get your money's worth out of it at this discounted price.

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Snatcher (TG-16 Mini)

Hey, some weeks get away from you. Today's game was also a somewhat lengthier one, and I wanted to finish it because it's not one I like to ditch mid-playthrough. There were a handful of things people took issue with the TurboGrafx-16 Mini over. The Amazon exclusivity, the scarcity of the TurboGrafx/CoreCrafx models, and the lack of certain games like The Legendary Axe and Keith Courage, as some examples. But the biggest bone most Western fans had to pick with it came from this game: Snatcher.

After making the first Metal Gear game but before creating the global hit PlayStation title Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima spent a bit of time making adventure games. The first of them was Snatcher, a game that borrowed many of its themes from the 1982 Harrison Ford film Blade Runner. It initially launched on the PC-8801 and MSX2, but ended up being ported to a few consoles including the PC Engine CD-ROM. Of all of its many versions, only one English release exists: the SEGA-CD port. And that one oddly never saw a Japanese release. Konami wanted to include Snatcher on the TG-16 Mini, but like other Japan-only games included on the mini-console it is here in non-translated form.

Unfortunately, that means that if you can't understand Japanese, you're going to have a tough time enjoying it here. It would have been nice if that English SEGA-CD release had been on the Genesis Mini 2, but I suppose some things just aren't meant to be. Still, if you're motivated to play through it here then you'll find any walkthrough for the SEGA-CD version will be mostly effective for getting you through the PCE-CD version as well. Will that be fun? I can't say. That's for you to decide.

The language barrier isn't an issue for me, so I'm quite happy to have the game on here. I find Kojima's adventure games to be quite enjoyable to play through, as the format fits his proclivities for rambling narratives. And while Snatcher might be ridiculously blatant in its "homage", it at least does it in style. I'm not sure the shooter bits are all that welcome in practice, but what's an adventure game without at least one awkward minigame to break things up?

Unless you're very liberal with genre labels, this is the only adventure game on this mini-console. I can't think of a better representative, though. Snatcher is cool, funny, and generally a well-constructed example of its genre. It would be nice if Konami could find its way to getting a multi-language version of the game out somewhere at some point, but it's at least nice to see it remembered in some form. Even if you can't understand the language, I'd recommend poking at it a little if you own this device.

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Which Mini-Console Should I Cover Next?

We're getting to the end of the game selection on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, which means I have to put the question to my readers once again. Which of the following mini-consoles would you like to see me cover next?

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Soldier Blade (TG-16 Mini)

Another vertically scrolling shoot 'em up on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini? It's more likely than you'd think! It's interesting to see how Soldier Blade's reputation has fared over the years. At the time of its release, it was met with a rather muted reception from Western critics and players. It's not that people disliked it, but it was largely seen as just another shooter for a system that already had plenty. Its rushed development certainly resulted in a few quirks, but time has been kind to Soldier Blade. It's not the most creative of shooters, but it's fast, fun, and its lack of complexity kind of works for it. Anyone can pick up a controller and enjoy themselves here, and its power-up system is satisfying yet simple.

Basically, there are a few different weapon types that you can change up by grabbing colored capsules left by enemies. You can stock up to three of them, and if you pick up the same color capsules consecutively you'll get a more powerful version of that weapon. You'll also be able to take additional hits. At any time, you can expend your current weapon to use its associated super attack. This will leave you weaker, so you'll want to be careful with doing this. At the same time, weapon power-ups come often enough that you can fire off those supers just before picking up a new one.

In terms of difficulty, Soldier Blade is fairly reasonable. It's a fast game, but you're generally well-equipped. As long as you're grabbing power-ups, your craft is surprisingly resilient. Yet it's nevertheless a good time, and includes the requisite Caravan modes so you can keep on trying to best your top scores. Soldier Blade might not be the best shooter on the console, or even the best Star Soldier game on the console, but it's surprisingly enjoyable for something that went from zero to finished in six months.

Also cool: the Special Caravan version of the game is included in the TG-16 Mini. Simply hold down Select while choosing the game from the carousel and you can play this rare treat. I mean, it's just the main game with the Normal Mode cut out, but this was an actual separate Hucard that was produced for Hudson's Caravan events that year. It's a very rare item, so being able to play it here is nifty.

Since this is the last game in the Soldier series we'll be talking about in this series of write-ups, I will mention that it's odd that Final Soldier wasn't included on this mini-console. Sure, it's probably the weakest of the bunch, but we were so close to having all of the games included! A similar thing happened with Bonk though, so I guess lines had to be drawn somewhere and were. I think I like Super Star Soldier a little better than Soldier Blade, but I'm glad they were both included since I really can't get enough of this series.

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New Adventure Island (TG-16 Mini)

Takahashi Meijin and his amazing rapid-fire skills had become both a spokesperson and video game star for Hudson Soft, yet somehow it took until 1992 before he made his first appearance on the PC Engine. Interestingly, this came a few months after the series made its debut on the Super Famicom. Complicated relationships, to be sure. By this point in the console's life, Hucard releases were falling by the wayside in favor of CD games. Those who only owned the base console were probably quite happy to get any reasonably decent game to play, and New Adventure Island is if nothing else reasonably decent.

To clarify where this game fits in the release chronology of the franchise, this was the fourth distinct Adventure Island game. It follows Super Adventure Island on the Super Famicom and predates Adventure Island III on the Famicom, and if you know your Adventure Islands (Adventures Island?) then you know the franchise hadn't really branched out too far from its Wonder Boy reskin roots yet. That's the case here as well, and I would argue in some ways it's even a step back from Adventure Island II in terms of gameplay mechanics. It's a very pure take on the concept, with the extra punch to the presentation that you would expect from the PC Engine.

I think in a lot of ways Adventure Island felt a little too old-fashioned by this point. It's incredibly straightforward and comes off like it was tuned for arcade play. New Adventure Island doesn't break away from that, but I think there's an appeal to it anyway. Sometimes you don't want to be exploring big, multidirectional scrolling areas. Sometimes you just want to be running forward lobbing stone hammers at things and trying to make devilish jumps. If that's you, then you'll have a nice time with this game. I've always been fond of it and the rest of its series, and that hasn't changed even decades later.

Given how Master Higgins/Takahashi Meijin was something of a mascot for Hudson, it makes sense for this game to be on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini. Amusingly, the box art for this game couldn't be included in the carousel. Susumu Matsushita was the artist for it, and I guess Konami wasn't able to come to a good arrangement to include it. Either way, having another fun platformer to play on this mini-console is more than welcome.

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Spriggan mark 2 (TG-16 Mini)

Sometimes sequels go in a very different direction. This happened a lot with video games back in the day. Spriggan was a fun vertical shooter in the Compile style, with a few niceties courtesy of using the CD format. Well, Spriggan mark 2 is also a CD-based game, but this time it really leans into it. There's a shift in theme towards more of a Gundam-style sci-fi setting, and it's a side-scrolling shooter instead of a vertical one. Compile is definitely outside of its comfort zone here, right off the hop. No power-ups this time around, either. You can choose your load-out between stages and use each weapon's limited ammo as you see fit.

There is also a metric ton of story in this game, delivered extremely frequently with full voice acting. It is constantly interrupting you, and it gets annoying fast. It's a decent story, but it's not really how I want to experience a narrative during a shoot 'em up. You can turn it off if it bothers you, which is a nice option. If you can't understand Japanese, you're not going to get much out of it anyway. Perhaps worth a go once with the story on, but after that I can't imagine wanting to keep it in subsequent replays.

Spriggan mark 2 is certainly impressive in some ways, but I can't say I like it much. Your mech's hit box is a little too big, the level designs are kind of dull, and the way the story is implemented is misguided. I can understand how all of this happened, but with a lot of amazing shooters on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, this isn't one I'll swing back to very often. Still, an interesting attempt that others might enjoy more than I did.

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Star Parodier (TG-16 Mini)

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, it seemed like a lot of Japanese publishers were doing parody games based on some of their popular IPs. Namco had a parody of Splatterhouse, Konami clowned on Gradius with Parodius, and SEGA's Alex Kidd was visiting Shinobi World, just to name a few. Hudson Soft already had plenty of light-hearted games, as it was the company's bread-and-butter to a degree. But why not a light-hearted shooter? If Gradius could beget Parodius, surely Star Soldier could spawn Star Parodier? Kaneko, the developer behind Super Star Soldier, was put on the task of creating this humorous cute 'em up.

First up, this is a CD game. That means more cut-scenes, more voices, higher-quality music, and no need to worry about the limitations of a Hucard. This game has a ton of variety in its stage themes and enemies, and the bosses are funny and clever in their implementation. All up, it's a breezier affair than many TurboGrafx-16 shooters, which is a bit of a twist from the typical brutal nature of the cute 'em up genre. It's easy to rack up a ton of lives and power-ups that can carry you far even on your first try. The last level is enough of a bear that you'll probably have to practice to actually finish the game, though. You've got three different characters to play through the game as, and the usual timed Caravan modes are included here to add further replay value. There are also multiple difficulty levels.

The three characters include the ship from Star Soldier, Bomberman, and a PC Engine. Each has a selection of weapons and other power-ups that can be collected, and they fit quite well. Bomberman gets a few different kinds of bombs, the PC Engine can shoot an increasing number of CDs and lob controllers, and so on. In total there are eight stages, and they feature references to other Hudson games plus a lot of cute content of their own. It's a really fun game to go through, and it's interesting to see just what wacky situation you'll stumble upon next.

It's not hard to see why Star Parodier would be included in this mini-console. It's a bit scarce in its original format, riffs on the console's most popular genre in a charming way, and offers a slight break from the more challenging shooters included. Definitely a game worth playing.