Taito

June 1991

Action

1 Player

Believe it or not, this peculiar vertically scrolling action game is a sequel to the timeless classic Bubble Bobble.  Instead of clearing screens of enemies with bubbles, you climb a towering playfield, trapping foes with rainbows.  It's a passable action title despite the dull graphics, but don't think for a minute you're getting Bubble Bubble quality out of this one.

FAST FACT:  A third Bubble Bobble game, Parasol Stars, was released for the NES in Europe.  While more enjoyable than its predecessor, Parasol Stars suffered from an awkward weapon system that felt less natural and intuitive than the bubbles in Bubble Bobble.  Taito eventually learned from its mistakes with Rainbow Islands and Parasol Stars, and returned the series to its roots with the more traditional Bubble Bobble 2.

Romstar

September 1990

Racing

1 Player

In Rally Bike, you challenge a small army of motorcycle riders, hoping to increase your rank in each race and ultimately become the leader of the pack.  This unique racing title, seen from an overhead perspective, is less forgiving than most games in the genre... crash even once and you're forced to start the race from the beginning.

Acclaim/Pack-In

May 1988

Action/Adventure

1 Player

Be it ever so quirky, there's no game like Rambo.  You'll run through the jungles and swamps of Vietnam, cutting a path through the wildlife with a combat knife and other weapons.  While on your mission, you'll encounter everything from giant moths to villains from the films, whose heads bloat into silly charicatures when they're attacked.  Bizarre, yet strangely compelling!

Data East

December 1988

Action

1-2 Players

Tear through the United States as thinly disguised clones of King Kong and Godzilla in this stiff, charmless adaptation of the Midway arcade classic.  Data East's conversion of Rampage has bland graphics, fewer selectable characters, and a lot less items to find in the buildings.  On the plus side, there's a new, painfully monotonous soundtrack!  Wait, that's not a plus...

Jaleco/Bitmasters

January 1992

Action/Puzzle

1-2 Players

One of the most inspired puzzle games ever made comes to the NES with all of the fun intact, along with great voice effects and realistic graphics.  You'll first lay down walls Tetris-style to capture castles, then drop cannons in your territory, which you'll use to defend yourself against an onslaught of invading ships.  The action is intense and way too addictive!

FAST FACT:  Tengen, the software division of Atari Games, had originally planned to release the game along with several other conversions of popular Atari arcade titles.  Those games either went unreleased (Hard Drivin', Xybots) or were licensed to official third party developers (Rampart, Cyberball).

Hi-Tech/RSP

May 1990

Game Show

1-2 Players

Welcome to the glorious 1980's, where the game show hosts are at their smarmiest and everybody else looks like they stepped out of a music video.  While you're here, you might as well challenge yourself to some television trivia in Remote Control, a hip parody of Jeopardy! with a set so loud, you'll be tempted to use your OWN remote control to tone down the colors.

FAST FACT:  Film star Adam Sandler got his start on the early seasons of this MTV game show as the spastic bit character Trivia Delinquent.

T*HQ

November 1993

Action

1 Player

There were many video games based on the excellent but ill-fated cartoon from the early 1990's, and this is... one of them.  Little can be said about Buckaroos!... with or without the Ren and Stimpy license, it's just another lackluster side-scrolling platformer.  Even the surreal imagery from the show isn't enough to hide the blandness of the gameplay.

Taito

January 1988

Action/Fighting

1-2 Players (alt)

This port of the elusive Taito arcade game is one of the earliest- and most underrated- fighting games in the NES library.  Sure, the graphics are flat in comparison to other beat 'em ups on the system, but the gameplay is fast-paced and intuitive, and you've got to love the catchy soundtrack... it sets the perfect mood for punching out greasers and thugs!

FAST FACT:  The mysterious "Mr. K." is none other than Kunio, the star of River City Ransom and its athletically minded spinoff Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge.  Our face punchin', fist-fightin' hero was given a different name in each of these games when they were released in the United States.  On a related note, Kunio shares his name with the president of Technos, Kunio Taki.  Taki now heads Million, the 21st century successor to Technos.