Hudson Soft

January 1989

Action

1-2 Players (alt)

This game feels like an early rough draft of Bomberman, rather than the game we grew to love in the 1990's.  There's no multiplayer option, the animation is kind of gimpy, and the gameplay is dull and frustrating.  The levels are much too large and your character is not nearly powerful enough, a combination which makes completing each stage a long and tedious process.

Hudson Soft

February 1993

Action

1-3 Players

FAST FACT:  Bomberman is Hudson Soft's most enduring series, spanning across three decades.  The game was first introduced in 1983 on the MSX, a Japanese computer.  Throughout the years, there have been dozens of sequels, released for every one of Nintendo's game systems.  Yup, that includes the Virtual Boy!

Hudson Soft/Red

January 1994

Action

1 Player

This mild-mannered caveman with an insatiable craving for raw meat had a tough time getting noticed as the mascot of a rival game system.  When he migrated to the NES, he still didn't get much attention... and when you play his game, you'll understand why.  Bonk's Adventure is a decent but forgettable platformer, with weird characters and way too linear gameplay.

FAST FACT:  Bonk's Adventure first got its start on the Turbografx-16.  This game console didn't do so well here in America.  However, its Japanese counterpart, the PC Engine, was extremely popular thanks to its advanced 16-bit graphics and quirky games with an Eastern flair.  Bonk was especially popular in Japan, inspiring several sequels.

Data East/JVC

June 1990

Puzzle

1-2 Players

This was one of the first puzzle games released on a home console, debuting years before the better known Tetris.  It's a much different experience than Tetris, too... here, you'll be digging underground, collecting gems while strategically dropping and dodging huge boulders.  Shiny new graphics distinguish NES Boulder Dash from previous versions on older systems.

Absolute/David Crane

January 1990

Action/Adventure

1 Player

Opinions are split on this game, and for good reason.  Either you'll really enjoy the inventive play mechanics, or you'll utterly hate the primitive graphics and sound.  You'll probably fall into the first category if you were a fan of David Crane's previous work.  Blob plays like the Pitfall! games, but adds an amorphous friend who transforms into various puzzle-solving tools.

FAST FACT:  You may remember David Crane as the creator of the popular Pitfall! series.  It's important to note, however, that he left Activision well before the creation of the legendarily awful Super Pitfall, eventually teaming up with fellow Activision programmers to found Absolute Entertainment.  Activision unwisely outsourced Super Pitfall to Fujisenkai Communications and its subsidiary, Pony Canyon.

Sony Imagesoft

September 1993

Genre

1 Player

Another day, another predictable NES platformer based on a popular film.  This one's so paint-by-numbers that it even packs its power ups into blocks with question marks stamped on them.  It's not just a Super Mario Bros. rip-off, however... as the title suggests, Dracula also borrows heavily from games like Castlevania, with similarly dark and creepy visuals.

FCI/Pony Canyon

January 1993

Sports

1-2 Players

The game of billiards requires careful thought and absolute precision, two things that clearly weren't invested in this NES adaptation by Japanese television magnate Fujisenkai Communications.  The interface in this rather lackluster pool sim is slow and clumsy, making it difficult to line up shots and select your next target in the 14-1 mode.  Even entering your name takes longer than it should!

Data East

November 1987

Action

1-2 Players (alt)

Breakthru is a military shooter which puts you behind the wheel of an armed all-terrain vehicle.  This jeep can leap over oncoming obstacles, but usually, it winds up on top of them, resulting in instant death.  After fifteen minutes of the game's special brand of maddening frustration, you'll contemplate breaking through the cartridge with a hammer and an ice pick.