Taito

March 1991

Action

1 Player

Take an equal blend of Mega Man and Castlevania, shake vigorously, and pour into Arnold Schwarzenegger's favorite glass, and you've got this competent action title.  As a clone of the famous muscleman, you must infiltrate a series of stages to disarm a master computer.  You're armed with steel boomerangs, which become more deadly when you collect power-ups.

FAST FACT:  Taito had originally planned to make this game much more like Mega Man than Castlevania.  In the early version of Power Blade, called Power Blazer, the graphics were more cartoony and the hero considerably less threatening.  With his chubby physique, protective headgear, and dull-edged boomerangs, he looked like Mega Man's mentally handicapped second cousin.

Taito

October 1992

Action

1 Player

Always a slave to fashion, Agent Nova went for the grunge look in 1992's sequel to the sleeper hit Power Blade.  This time, the graphics are darker and more threatening, but the gameplay is largely the same.  The levels are less linear and more challenging than before, but Nova still fights futuristic enemies (including new robot dragon bosses) with his razor-sharp boomerangs.

American Softworks/Beam

June 1992

Sports/Fighting

1 Player

Power Punch II is even more outrageous than Nintendo's Punch Out!!, sending the suspiciously named Mark Tyler into orbit to fight a bunch of increasingly weird alien boxers.  Strange as they may be, these creatures lack the charisma of Punch Out!!'s ethnocentric fighters... and neither the graphics nor the gameplay measure up to the Nintendo classic, either.

Activision/Pack-In

April 1989

Action

1 Player

This game is the pits.  Just ask Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will be spending a lot of time IN the pits thanks to Predator's slippery control.  If he doesn't fall to his death on his own, the cheap, sometimes impossible to attack enemies will offer their assistance by tossing him into the nearest chasm.  By the time the Predator arrives, Arnie will be too flat to fight him.

Virgin

November 1992

Action

1 Player

The Prince makes his grand entrance on the NES, and his appearance here is as regal as it was on any other system.  You'll climb ledges, leap over spikes, and fight enemies with all the breathtaking grace you've come to expect from the Prince of Persia series.  The control is just as awkward as it's always been, but you'll adapt to it with a little practice.

FAST FACT:  Jordan Mechner's kid brother was the model for the Prince of Persia character.  Jordan taped his energetic sibling running, climbing, and using a sword, then used a process called rotoscoping (drawing over the frames of an actual person in action) to create the animation for the game.  Similar technology was used in Jordan's previous game Karateka, released in Japan for the Famicom.

Hudson

February 1991

Adventure

1 Player

One word sums up this graphic adventure with a cast straight out of a supermarket produce aisle:  adorable.  You'll find baby persimmons, flying cherry birds, and grouchy turnips while on a quest to save the Princess Tomato.  Everything in the game is brightly colored and cheek-squeezingly cute, but the limited interface will leave experienced adventure fans wanting more.

Jaleco

November 1993

Sports

1-2 Players

Now here's a hockey game that really puts up a fight.  Pro Sport Hockey is one heck of a challenge when you're playing against the computer opponent... even when saddled with a mediocre team, it has no trouble taking the puck from you and driving it into your net.  A lack of friction on the ice keeps your players sliding, making a difficult game even tougher.

Nintendo

March 1987

Sports

1-2 Players

It may not seem all that special now, but kids were very thankful for Pro Wrestling when it was first released.  Next to other early wrestling titles like M.U.S.C.L.E. and Tag Team Wrestling, Pro Wrestling shines like the finely polished gold of a championship belt, with large, realistically drawn characters and an extensive selection of holds and throws.