Category: Feature

Some Games We Cannot Play (Dark Age of JRPGs)
Alright, before we can go on with the regular program, here is one issue that we need to deal with …

Seiken Densetsu (Dark Age of JRPGs)
No, this has nothing to do with Square’s popular Mana series, despite the identical Japanese title. This one was actually …

Dungeon (Dark Age of JRPGs)
Koei’s final RPG for 1983 follows the classic Ultima formula closer than any of the other games shown thus far. …

Dear Esther
When approached as a game, Dear Esther is bundled frustration. A game all wandering around an abandoned island sounds like a great …

Ken to Mahou / Sword & Sorcery (Dark Age of JRPGs)
Last week I didn’t get to do another entry unfortunately (although I technically didn’t announce this as a weekly …

Franko: The Crazy Revenge
In the early 90s, the success of games like Final Fight, Golden Axe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the …

Home: a unique horror adventure
The protagonist of Home is a nameless guy who wakes up in an unknown house with a wounded leg. Just in the …

Edge Grinder
Edge Grinder is a game were you grind along edges. Well, technically it’s a horizontally scrolling shoot-em-up, with lots of alien …

Pyongyang Racer
There is nothing that decaying communist dictatorships love like tourism. The Republic of Cuba is a striking example of this …

Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi
On paper, a Star Wars fighting game sounds like a terrific concept. After all, some of the most famous parts of all …

Paris-Dakar Rally Special
Let’s be honest: Paris-Dakar Rally race car drivers don’t get paid nearly enough. Even with all of the sponsorship money, …

Chester Cheetah: Too Cool To Fool
Chester Cheetah, the Cheetos-loving cool cat, was something of a product of the nineties. Cool shades? Attitude? You got it! …

Record of Agarest War
In Japan, Idea Factory (アイディアファクトリー) is so renowned for making kusoge it’s affectionately referred to as Idea Fuck (アイディアファック); not …

Koneko Monogatari
The publisher Pony Canyon had a reputation for making terrible games for the Famicom, and Koneko Monogatari is no different. …

Critical Path
Critical Path is a game that initially was an impressive demonstration of new technology, but had few redeeming qualities after the …

Hana no Star Kaidou
In the Famicom game Hana no Star Kaidou, you take on the roles of two fictional musicians – Moeta Hatano and …

Super Monkey Daibouken
“Nagai tabi ga hajimaru…” (“The long journey begins…”) proclaims the opening text of Super Monkey Daibouken. And boy, are they …

Corpse Killer
Corpse Killer is another largely insufferable FMV game from the creative Digital Pictures team, who were nothing if not prolific. …

BCV: Battle Construction Vehicles
BCV, short for Battle Construction Vehicles, and known as Kensetsu Juuki Kenka Battle: Buchigire Kongou! in its native Japan, embraces …

Gordo 106: The Mutated Lab Monkey
The golden era of the late 70s and early 80s was ruled by Atari, with them and other publishers often …