Bandai/Advance

April 1989

Action...?

1 Player

It took a carefully concocted formula to turn Dr. Jeckyll into a raving madman, but a copy of this game is all you'll need to make you foam at the mouth.  Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde defies all logic with its mindbending gameplay, which will leave you feeling helpless ("why can't I defend myself!?"), then confused ("what's the point to all this?"), then very, very angry.

OTAKU ALERT!:  The Japanese version of this game sucks slightly less than its US counterpart thanks to the inclusion of two additional stages and a lady of ill repute who can restore Dr. Jeckyll's health.  Yeah, it's a Hot Coffee kind of thing, which is why the feature (as legitimately useful as it was) was removed from the American release.

Nintendo

October 1990

Puzzle

1 Player

Hoping to build on the success of its last puzzle game Tetris, Nintendo released the mediocre Dr. Mario.  In this game, you use medicine capsules to kill pesky germs.  Each pill is an antidote to a like-colored virus... when you match them up in rows or columns of four, both the capsules and germs vanish.  It won't be long before you'll wish the game would vanish along with them!

TO BE CONTINUED...?:  Dr. Mario has appeared on several Nintendo game systems (GameBoy, Super NES, and Nintendo 64), and even underwent a name change when it was included as a bonus on Brain Age 2 for the Nintendo DS.  There, it's known as Virus Buster.  The game is enhanced with touchscreen control and the inclusion of a real doctor, famed Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima.

Sofel/Natsume

January 1992

Action

1 Player

It seems like just another generic side-scrolling action game with a monster-slaying hero, but there's a secret hidden in Dragon Fighter.  Vanquishing enemies builds up energy which can be used to transform your knight into that king of mythological beasts, the dragon.  Careful use of this ability is a must if you hope to survive to the end of each brutally difficult stage.

Bandai

March 1988

Action

1 Player

They know better now, but back when the NES was first released, Bandai was convinced that Americans would never relate to the Dragon Ball cartoon series.  That's why they changed all the characters in this simplistic and silly overhead view action game before releasing it in the United States.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out its true origins, however.

Bandai/Namco

June 1990

Shooter

1 Player

The best part of this overhead view shooter has to be the soundtrack... there's some very well-written music here that sounds as though it would be more at home in a role-playing game.  There's also a prologue which determines the game's difficulty... blow it while you're fighting Zawel and the game eases up on you, but you won't get the best possible ending when you win.

Nintendo/Enix

August 1989

Role-Playing

1 Player

One of the first console role-playing games, Dragon Warrior offers all the standard features we've come to expect from the genre.  You slay foul beasts, find hidden treasure chests, collect gold, and purchase items which strengthen your character.  However, because of its advanced age, Dragon Warrior only gives players the barest of RPG essentials.

FAST FACT:  Nintendo pushed hard to make role-playing games like Dragon Warrior "the next Tetris" in the United States.  However, Americans weren't ready for turn-based adventures on a game console, leaving Nintendo with a lot of copies of Dragon Warrior it couldn't sell.  Hoping to make the best of a bad situation, the company gave away copies of Dragon Warrior as a bonus to subscribers of its monthly magazine, Nintendo Power.

Enix

September 1990

Role-Playing

1 Player

The sequel to Dragon Warrior introduces an important feature to the series which has since become a standard in role-playing games... a party of heroes.  Although you start out on your own, you'll eventually team up with a magic user and a warrior princess, both crucial allies in your fight against the forces of evil.  This brings depth to the otherwise unchanged gameplay.

Enix

March 1992

Role-Playing

1 Player

Dragon Warrior III gets things rolling quickly by letting you assemble a team of wizards and warriors right from the start, rather than having to search the ends of the Earth for partners.  The graphics are also a lot more detailed than they were in the first two installments.  However, at its core, Dragon Warrior III is the same as the previous two games in the series, with a no-frills combat system and a melodramatic fantasy soundtrack.