T*HQ/Imagineering

October 1992

Action

1 Player

Kevin's back, and he's raising hotel hell in this tepid platformer, based on the sequel to the classic family film.  You'll jump on couches, sneak past hotel receptionists, blast bellboys with a cork gun, and above all else, get really bored while desperately trying to find your negligent parents.  Put away the aftershave, kids... this game's anything but a scream.

Sony Imagesoft/Ocean

April 1992

Action

1 Player

This is definitely the better of the two Peter Pan games on the NES.  The graphics are full of bright color, the control is precise, and the designers managed to incorporate characters and situations from the Spielburg film into each level.  A lack of depth and a dagger you can't actually use to defend yourself are the game's only major flaws.

Jaleco

June 1989

Sports

1-2 Players

There's no "I" in "team"... but luckily for you, there's no team in Hoops.  Feel free to hog the ball as much as you want while playing a little one-on-one with another hungry young basketball player.  If the aggressive computer opponent is too much of a challenge, you can always compete against a friend, or try a free-throw shooting game of Around the World instead.

Sony Imagesoft/Ocean

February 1992

Action

1 Player

Nobody liked the film, so why should the game be any different?  In this lackluster adaptation of the colossal Sony Pictures flop, you guide a sunburned Bruce Willis past rabid weiner dogs, chubby cops, and other less than threatening security measures to steal priceless paintings.  You'll need at least a six pack of golden wine coolers to work up the courage to keep playing.

Hudson

September 1988

Action

1 Player

Hudson's first major NES release was Hudson's Adventure Island, a pleasant but unspectacular action title starring the company's mascot, Master Higgins.  The game is similar to the first Super Mario Bros., but as fans of a competing game system will quickly point out, it borrows even more liberally from Sega's Wonder Boy, featuring the same weapons, levels, and enemies.

FAST FACT:  The hero of Hudson's Adventure Island, Master Higgins, was based on a Hudson Soft employee named Toshiyuki Takahashi.  Takahashi's enviable gaming skills earned himself the nickname “Meijin”, or master.  His most celebrated talent is pressing fire buttons at blinding speeds... Takahashi's quivering fingers can tap a fire button sixteen times in a single second!

Hudson

February 1991

Action

1 Player

The second game in the Adventure Island series improves on the original in a number of ways, adding more colorful graphics and tighter control.  However, the ability to ride one of four adorable dinosaurs is the game's best new feature.  It not only gives Adventure Island II more variety than its predecessor, but helps distance it from its inspiration Wonder Boy.

Hudson

September 1992

Action

1 Player

Hudson's Adventure Island III is content to tread the same path as the second game in the series.  The only real differences you'll notice are a couple of new dinosaur steeds and more abstract, less realistic graphics.  It may not take Adventure Island in a bold new direction, but you'll still have fun trying to rescue your girlfriend from the UFO that abducted her.

Hi-Tech/Beam

January 1991

Shooter

1 Player

You'll have to hunt a long while to find a shooter on the NES more original than this one.  The Hunt for Red October takes place entirely underwater, where a submarine armed with missiles and torpedos (that's you) must fight its way past cannons and depth charge dropping tanks (that's them).  Flexible aiming helps soothe the sting of the slow, sometimes frustrating gameplay.