Culture Brain

September 1989

Action/Adventure

1 Player

If at first you don't succeed (and get your memory erased by the evil sorcerer you were trying to defeat in the process), try, try again!  That's the lesson taught by The Magic of Sheherezade, a solid game that blends action, adventure, and role-playing elements together and adds a pinch of Arabian folklore for spice.  If you liked The Legend of Zelda, give this a try.

Taxan/Eurocom

February 1991

Adventure

1 Player

This deep adventure title is enhanced by a dialogue window at the bottom of the screen, which describes in your every action in exhaustive detail.  You can be sure this window will be kept busy, too, because Magician gives you plenty to do, and all kinds of useful spells to cast.  Richly detailed graphics and competant sound strengthen the game's medievel atmosphere.

FCI/Pony Canyon

October 1988

Shooter

1-2 Players

Nihon Bussan's fascination with giant robots continues in this adequate conversion of the unrelentingly dull arcade game.  This side-scrolling shooter lets you explore the Earth's surface or battle enemies in underground caverns, all while putting together pieces of an android which looks like it was dug out of a toy store clearance bin.

LJN

April 1988

Sports

1-2 Players

Here's the good news... Major League Baseball features real baseball teams and real player statistics (although oddly, not the players themselves) for a more authentic experience.  The bad news?  In this case, "authentic" doesn't mean "good".  The game is very rough, with fielders that throw like your grandmother and long pauses when the game switches camera views.

Jaleco/Lucasfilm

September 1990

Adventure

1 Player

No matter how you slice it, this campy adventure game is a classic.  However, it was originally intended for advanced home computers, not a considerably less powerful 8-bit game system.  On the NES, the game's interface is a bit clumsier without a mouse and the characters are stiffly drawn, but you'll still have fun guiding those meddling kids through Dr. Fred's mansion.

FAST FACT:  Hamster flambee' doesn't sound like an appetizing recipe, but it really didn't agree with Nintendo.  When the company discovered that Maniac Mansion let players pop a pet rodent into the game's microwave and cook it to a golden brown, they demanded that Jaleco remove this feature from later editions of the game.

Taxan/Namco

April 1989

Action

1 Player

For every new feature Mappyland adds to the straightforward gameplay in the original Mappy, it takes an ounce of charm away.  There are plenty of new ways to skin a cat in this sequel to the cartoony arcade game from the early 1980's, but Mappyland just isn't as fun as the original thanks to a hideous color scheme and an obnoxious soundtrack that hits all the wrong notes.

Milton Bradley/Rare

March 1989

Action

1-2 Players

Awkward control is the only thing that keeps this conversion from achieving true arcade perfection.  Marble Madness captures everything you loved about the Atari arcade game, from the crisp isometric graphics to the ingenious level design, but without a trackball, it's very difficult to guide your marble down the narrow paths leading to the end of each stage.

Nintendo

June 1986

Action

1-2 Players

After Super Mario Bros., players had come to expect more from the NES than what this average arcade conversion can offer.  Although the sewer hoppin', turtle boppin' gameplay is still intact, the graphics are definitely not... the enemies are smaller and less detailed than they were in the arcade game, and all the intermissions have been stripped away.

FAST FACT:  Years after this game was released, Nintendo created two more Mario Bros. translations for the NES with a more authentic arcade look and feel.  The first Mario Bros. game was released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System, and the second was released in Europe as a cartridge.