Jaleco (Hudson)

December 1988

Action

1 Player

As the Robowarrior, an android specially designed as a detonation expert, it's your job to restore a dying planet to its former glory.  You'll carve a path through the world's few remaining trees with bombs, then blast metallic enemies with a shoulder-mounted cannon to collect more explosives.  The gameplay is tedious and unforgiving... not a dynamite combination.

FAST FACT:  If you noticed similarities between Robowarrior and the Bomberman series, well, that's not a coincidence.  Hudson Soft developed the game and released it in Japan with the grandiose title Bomber King.  Like the later Bomberman: Act Zero for the Xbox 360, Bomber King was intended as a more serious extension of the normally lighthearted Bomberman series.

NTVIC (Namco)

January 1990

Action

1-4 Players (alt)

This ball's not as rockin' as the title might lead you to believe.  Rock 'n Ball offers a wide variety of play styles, including a versus mode where you try to fire the ball past your opponent's flippers.  However, none of the tables are very well designed, the graphics are rather plain, and the ball physics aren't up to par with the system's best pinball games.

FAST FACT:  Namco had originally released this game in Japan, giving it the title Family Pinball.  Family Pinball featured a handful of Namco's most popular characters, and even a table dedicated to the company's most successful video game, Pac-Man!  Sadly, these features were removed from NTVIC's US release of the game.

Kemco

June 1990

Action/Strategy

1 Player

Based on the science-fiction serials from the early days of film, Rocket Ranger pits you, the dashing rocket pack-clad hero, against evil space Nazis.  You'll battle airplanes and gigantic zepplins in the sky, then touch down on Earth and duke it out with the enemy's best soldiers.  Both strategic planning and careful resource management are necessary to ensure your victory.  A little blood pressure medication for those frustrating defeats wouldn't hurt, either.

Bandai

May 1991

Action

1 Player

At first, young pilot Cliff Secord is bound to the ground while battling marauding mobsters in this competant but unexceptional action game.  However, once he finds fuel for his latest discovery, an experimental rocket pack, he can take his fight to the skies, flying high above his adversaries and leaping to platforms which would otherwise be out of reach.

Atlus

September 1991

Action

1 Player

A tackily dressed cat tries to save his kidnapped girlfriend from the canine mafia in this simple but charming action game by Atlus.  Your hero is armed with a punching glove that can not only knock out the bad guys, but helps him swing over pits and spring off walls.  Rockin' Kats' humor and likable characters keep it from being just another side-scrolling platformer.

FAST FACT:  Nearly a decade after Rockin' Kats, Atlus released Tail Concerto, another cartoony platformer featuring the timeless rivalry between cats and dogs.  In this Playstation title, the animals' roles were reversed... the dogs were cast as the heroes, and the cats were portrayed as sneaky criminals.

LJN, Sculptured

October 1991

Sports

1-2 Players

With its many realistic views of the action, Roger Clemens Baseball is a very impressive game.  Unfortunately, the constant camera shifts make the game tougher to play than the typical NES baseball title.  The disorienting perspectives make fielding especially difficult... hit balls often fire past your fielders before you have a chance to adjust to the newest viewpoint.

HAL Laboratory

February 1990

Action

1-4 Players (alt)

This game's got balls!  Three of them, to be precise.  And it's up to you to keep each ball in play for as long as possible, ascending to the top of the New York-themed table where an especially difficult, bumper-filled bonus stage awaits.  Rollerball is one of the best pinball games on the system, with attractive graphics, realistic ball physics, and addictive play.

Hi-Tech (Radiance)

February 1993

Action

1 Player

Kyle's a hip (but aggravatingly polite) young rollerblader seeking to perfect his in-line skating skills.  You'll test his talents by guiding him through some of the worst streets in America, full of cracks, potholes, and stray dogs.  Reach a set score and you'll be able to compete against professional bladers in this ho-hum action game with an isometric viewpoint.