Darragh O’Connor provides a blast from the past in his selection of bygone games
There are literally hundreds of “retro” video games that are worth playing. People are most familiar with names like Sonic, cialis Zelda and Mario on the box. Those, however, are merely the tip of the iceberg, and some of the best games from this era you may never have heard of.
I have compiled a list of four games, in no particular order, that may have slipped past you. These are worth dusting off the Megadrive/SNES, plus the investment of your time and your frustration.
Earthworm Jim is a run and gun platformer released for the Sega Mega Drive(Genesis) in 1994, and subsequently to other consoles, like the SNES. It is now available on PSN and the Xbox Arcade in HD. This game has always been known for its beautiful animation that successfully captured the magic of the TV show. The puzzles, awesome 2D gameplay, and boss battles with Psy-Crow, Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head, will give hours of entertainment. I would recommend watching the show too, as it will increase your appreciation of this game.
Kid Chameleon is a platform game released for the Megadrive. The premise of the game is that a young boy, Casey, can use a series of masks which allow him to use different abilities in a virtual reality game. Casey must beat the game in order to escape. This game can be found on a number of compilations such as the Sega Genesis Collection for the PS2 and PSP. It is an essential for those who like a Super Mario-style platformer but with a more “adult” feel. The controls are perfect, but like most games of this era, this is not an easy game.
Kirby Super Star is a hybrid of the “classic” Kirby of the NES and the Kirby of the handheld world. The updated controller of the SNES allow Kirby to use more abilities and the improved graphics make this the best Kirby adventure of the 8-bit/16-bit era. Kirby is one of the lesser-known characters, and once you pick up this one up you will know why that’s such a crime.
RoboCop Versus The Terminator is a video game released for a number of platforms and is based on the RoboCop and Terminator franchises. The plot is set in the future in which RoboCop must battle waves of terminators and other Skynet machines to save Delta City. Again, it is a sidescroller, but this one is unlike any other. The array of weapons makes for a fast paces blood bath, and the fun that can be gained from a single play-through rivals any game from the next generation consoles.
