Grindhouse Double Feature: Nemesis (Game Boy, 1991)

Today I'm looking at another pair of portable games. Nemesis was a Game Boy version of Gradius, not unlike how Operation C is a Game Boy version of Contra. Konami likes to do that.

It isn't a straight port, but rather its own similar-yet-different game. It also got a hard-as-hell sequel in the same year, but only in Japan and Europe.

Grindhouse Double Feature: GG Aleste (Sega Game Gear, 1991 and 1993)

 

It's Day Two of Shooter Week. Time for Compile's next major followup to Zanac. The original Aleste was a Sega Master System game, called Power Strike in the U.S.

It was ported to the MSX, Mega Drive, and Game Gear, and the ports later got a sequel. Out of all of these potential options, I chose to play the Game Gear versions simply because they were the easiest to emulate get ahold of.

These are, of course, the predecessors to Super Aleste, known in the West as the rad Space Megaforce. 

Nintendo Power, Volume 23 (April 1991)

I recently tracked down the first Nintendo Power that I ever read. I was eight, and the local library had a ton of Nintendo Power back-issues. This was the most recent issue at the time, and despite barely playing any video games yet I was enraptured.

Dragonball Z: Gekishin Freeza (Famicom, 1991)

THIS is the best Dragonball Z RPG out there for a retro system. It's better than the other Famicom games, it's better than the Super Famicom games... the newer ones on DS and whatnot likely have it beat, but if you want to play a retro DBZ game look no further than this one. It's seriously really good, you guys.

Ultima: Warriors of Destiny (NES, 1991)

This is Ultima V's ill-recieved NES port. The PC version of Ultima V is debatably the best game in the series, a game that is critically acclaimed to this day. Yet this is easily the worst of the console ports, nearly to the point of unplayability.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis, 1991)

As a kid, I used to lay awake and think about how Nintendo was "where it's at", while never giving Sega a real chance. Now I'm all grown and I realize that rooting for one side or the other is pointless when they're both good. Competition from Sega, spearheaded by Sonic the Hedgehog, is what pushed Nintendo to bring their absolute best in the mid 90's. Competition from the Sony Playstation pushed Nintendo to finally let go of the cartridge format. Competition from the Playstation 3 and XBox 360 has ensured that Nintendo won't be putting out another non-HD system in the age of HD. Competition from the PS4 and XBox720 will ensure that the Nintendo 7th doesn't have a game lineup consisting primarily of Princess Toadstool hentai RPGs, at least after 2015. Competition is good. With this appreciation in mind, I finally gave Sonic a go.

Power Blade (NES, 1991)

 

Today I'm going to look at a game that was prominently featured in the first Nintendo Power I ever read: Power Blade. Might have been the first game I ever wanted to play. Back in July 2008, I finally got a chance to play this game, after all those years. I took some screen shots and saved them up to unleash upon the world like a plague of locusts. Now, the time has come.